Blackness Phantom, featuring Danny Phantom
by Bastion Lightz
Summary: Darkness Phantom's sequel; when the Disasteroid approaches Earth, Danny retrieves his power by returning to the path of the ancient scythe. This power gives him the strength to handle the darkness coming to destroy his home and reawaken memories of a forgotten past. Can he protect everyone, or will he need help from unlikely allies? Danny x Desiree eventually
1. The First Darkness

_**Holy Phantom featuring Danny Phantom**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Julia: I knew this would come back.

Illarion: Fan-freakin'-tastic! I love this show.

Kei: We kind of had to, what with waiting our fans have gone through from the first one. It's the perfect time too, as it's the 7 year anniversary of the first story and Butch Hartman gave us those sweet designs. Also we've been watching RWBY.

Julia: This story shall begin sort of like how the last one did. You'll see how.

* * *

 ** _The First Darkness – Foreshadow_**

* * *

The Ghost Zone; It is a green and black realm existing beside the Human world. It serves as the flip side of Earth and is just as big as it. But then again, no one reading this story wouldn't know about that. What is unknown to the readers is the story behind it, and what surrounds the universe of this darkness.

We'll get to that later; right now there's a battle going on in the midst of this dimension, between three beings of differing existences.

"Whoa!" This is our first, a white haired half ghost boy barely 16 years old. He is dressed in a black jumpsuit fitted to stick like skin with traces of white on him from his silver gloves and straps on his abs and top abdomen connecting his flowing blanch cape. He wears a green visor over his spring green eyes, a white attachment on his left wrist, and silver boots with the jumpsuit. He has a black P inside of a white D on his chest, matching his white regal collar, and wields an eight foot scythe. The black, wooden part of the scythe is actually chains and the bottom of it has a cross point. The top of the scythe connected to the blade is similar to the bottom but shines with a black glow while colored ectoplasmic green.

He flies up high, him and his cape escaping a slash coming his way. He raises his scythe and blocks a sword aimed for his head. This blade is owned by a warrior wearing a mechanized suit. His is black and blue mainly with glowing lights. His arms have a gray paddling on the elbows same for his knees and shins, and his faceless helmet shows a metal mouth and red flares that many can replicate for eyes. His weapon is a straight sword with a mechanical golden and black spiral hilt 81 centimeters in length.

The two clash with their weapons, until eventually coming to a stop when a slash wave comes their way. The wielder is a dark skinned male with silver white hair sweated down as bangs. He wields yellow eyes with a red iris and a bloody scar along his right eye. He is dressed in a maroon coat that hangs down to his knees buttoned at his chest to have all three coattails flow. It goes over a sleeveless yellow vest which sits atop his orange pants and the brown boots; his belt is a brown, snakeskin with a silver buckle while the boots have orange buckled straps. He wears crimson, fingerless gloves to show his claws. His sword is a katana, a meitou with red lines along its blade similar to veins, stretching from the guard. The guard is a traditional regal star while the hilt are golden spades surrounded by the color of dried blood.

The ghost boy deflects his attack and takes flight, dodging the energy bullets fired from the metal hero's pistol. The gun is knocked out of his hand by the severely lengthy katana twirling through the air. The sword moves in closer to his face, slicing along his armor, but he bends back and avoids a missing head.

As the swordsman lands he swipes twice, both fatal blows blocked by his opponent's sword. The katana comes down, scraping along the edge of his sword, and before he could make a follow up he gets knocked back by a shoulder push. They part from eachother with another collision of blades before the metal hero rolls over to grab his pistol.

The ghost boy flies down throwing his scythe, the chains extending as the blade spins like a gyro towards them. The swordsman blocks using his held sheath like a back hand sword, and then sheathes it. The ghost lands on the platform of skulls they're on and pulls back his scythe, aiming his right hand to fire a green ghost ray. The metal hero deflects it using a shield projected from his arm, and fires from his pistol. The ghost manipulates his spectral body slithering through the air like a snake, and flies along the air drawing his fire towards the swordsman.

This blade master rapidly swings his sword in a circle, causing the bullets to be drawn into the vacuum. He then swings, sending them towards the ghost. He slithers away from them again dodging the bullets. The metal hero jumps in at the swordsman from behind, his sword now glowing the color of solid lightning. The swordsman steps away deflecting his sword.

The three warriors stare at one another. Eyes lock on one another and pass to the next. The swordsman sheathes his sword, leaving a slight opening by his thumb. The metal soldier backhands his sword and slides his free hand down the blade, causing it to shine a laser blue. The ghost holds his scythe behind him vertically, causing black ecto energy to form around the blade.

A moment of pause finally relapses, and they each slash releasing energy attacks. The collision causes a massive tidal wave of power to backlash.

…

"It only gets worse from here," speaks the specter and observer of time Clockwork. This time ghost and his now young and vibrant form turns over to the golden knight like woman sitting in a chair before him.

"And that's why you need my help?" She glares at the portal before her, turning an eye towards her targets. "Three warriors – a soldier bred by science and hatred, a demon fueled by pride and jealousy, and a ghost boy who became a monster to protect…these three are veritable forces that will change the worlds for the better?"

"Yes," begins Clockwork, turning into an adult, "because we're all doomed if things do not follow this direction."

Her red eyebrows lift up at that. "My word… you've never said anything that apocalyptic before. Not even towards that giant rock that's about to crash into our world."

"That rock as you call it is all a part of their plan. Bring him here as soon as that happens, and make sure no one knows where he is."

She glares with unbridled anger. "Since when do you give me orders? I am Reina Dark!" She draws a golden blade from a wrist compartment and aims it at the now elderly man. "I'll help you, but next time tell me everything. I'm sick of being left in the dark by your cryptic messages, and you will tell me the full truth of what will happen."

"As you wish." He watches as she takes her leave, slashing the air behind her to create a portal to walk through. "He hasn't fallen off his ideal path after all."

* * *

Kei: At this point, we would have the title card appear and then foreshadow events to come. That only worked with Darkness Phantom because it was treated as a special for Danny Phantom. A sequel should strive to be better.

Illarion: For those curious, this story will take place during Phantom Planet, and continue after it because we do not like that story, no, that ending for Danny Phantom. We need to keep at least half of it to make the story work in our favor.

Julia: See you next chapter.


	2. The Second Darkness

_Blackness Phantom featuring Danny Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Kei: Let's give thanks to the people who enjoyed this story in the last couple of days, by answering a guest review: the whole Sam jealousy thing is pretty done. As much a negative factor that's been, she has many more cons that gets skipped in fanfiction - manipulative, always trying to be different, hypocrisy, etc... Also I think she only started to like him because of his powers.

Illarion: This chapter will be based mostly off Phantom Planet, as we have warned. Only up to a certain point though, because what you'll see in this chapter is what's necessary to the plot.

Yusei: Enjoy!

* * *

 _ **The Second Darkness – Rewritten**_

* * *

"And there you have it. It's been seven days: seven days since defeating that psychotic fruitloop in space, six days since he hired a group of professional ghost busters to make me look bad, four days since I lost my powers, and two days since my friends stopped hanging around me," speaks nerdy teenager and former ghost crime fighter Danny Fenton. He remains lying on a gym mat after hours, blue eyes focused on the sole person in the gymnasium.

She is a beautiful, chocolate skinned, adult woman dressed as a teacher. Her long black hair flows behind her and on his shirt as he lays a head on his lap. Their crystal blue eyes meet as he continues: "I'm not sure what I want now. Sam said all these things about how she felt the town was safer while I was around, and that I was selfish for giving my powers up. And, I think she's right. Just today I forgot myself and tried to save people from the Lunch Lady… I miss my powers now."

"Well it's natural to miss what was once a part of you," speaks the dazzling beauty as she looks back and forth at the exits. You can't be too careful. "In my opinion, I think what Sam said was selfish. You decided to give up your powers to protect the people in your life from getting hurt, but you could have just split yourself in half like that one time Technus told me about."

"Well-"

"You could have also ran away and confronted Vlad to keep them away from you."

"I guess-"

"I don't get why you all have to treat this like a permanent issue; once your parents rebuild it you can just reverse it."

"You're missing the point though..." He prepares a response, and sighs. "Nevermind, you're right."

"I mean, if you want your powers back you could always just wish for it," she says, raising her hand to twiddle her fingers.

"What, like Tucker?"

"I'm sure I can just recreate how you got them in the first place…how DID you get them in the first place?" At the gym doors, a simmering goth teen watches with curiosity(read jealousy) at the two in their own world. "But anyway, you decided to give up your powers so no one would arrest your parents for harboring a ghost, and your friends just get on your case. The way it sounds to me, they only found value in you when you had powers. Like they wish they had them instead."

"You sound like Spectra."

"She taught me how to look into people. I did after all spend a lifetime with other ghosts before we became friends. Anyway, if you wish to gain your powers back just give me a call." She moves his head aside before standing.

Leaning his scarred frame and giving her a happy smile, the crystal eyed teen says, "Thanks for this talk Desiree. At least you're still around."

"Honestly, I wish you kept your powers too; Vlad only cares about himself and has some secret motive to this, and you did all this for free. I was drawn by your maturity as well as your heroic heart." Desiree prepares to leave, just as Sam enters.

"Well, look at how cozy we are," she speaks, restraining her spite. "Nice that you found something to do now that you're not being a hero."

"Don't be that way Sam-" Desiree holds a hand to him, stopping the boy from continuing any further.

"For someone who's been around him for so long, you're so understanding." Gothic violet and crystal blue stare at one another, electricity sparking between them.

"Look, I thought you two would-"

"Leave now." This is in unison, and forceful enough to drive Danny away. No one wants to get between that.

Once he's gone, words form. "Samantha, I think it's time we spoke about the elephant in the room."

"I told you, he's everywhere!" speaks the goth pointing at the ghost elephant tiptoeing away. "As for you, I'm gonna be honest; I don't like you. I never liked you."

"I already apologized for what I did to you three before."

"Why are you so intent on spending time with Danny? I don't believe you've really turned over a new leaf."

"I have."

"Then you wouldn't mind telling me what you and Danny talked about."

"That's none of your business. If you two are so close then just ask him." Desiree then transforms, turning into her true form. The now green genie flies towards the ceiling.

"I wish you would tell me!"

Flinching, the genie angrily turns around beaming down on Sam. "The Underworld is filled with scum like you."

As Desiree kowtows to Sam's wish, Danny walks home taking in the advice she gave. 'Thinking about it, I can always wish for it from her…' He makes it home and enters inside, where his parents look on worried at the television screen.

Just before he could ask, the screen tells him everything. "…massive asteroid is hurtling across the solar system." Video coverage shows what appears to be a green asteroid coming their way. "If left unchecked, its flight path will lead to it crashing into the earth."

A reenactment shows the meteor crashing through and shattering it along with the world. Danny drops back in shock. "…what?"

"We attest that there is about one week until impact. Use it wisely."

…

"With only days away until the asteroid, which many are now calling the Disasteroid, hits, our world's many nations came together with their best missiles to destroy the meteor. Sadly, not even Korea had enough firepower to save us," speaks a disgruntled, female reporter. "Good for nothing rockets-"

"Still on air," someone whispers.

"And speaking of good for nothing, we're going live to Fenton Works where a secret government funded mission is underway." The camera moves on to the basement of Danny's home, where he, his sister, his mother Madelyn, and Vlad Masters watch the mission going on.

"I can't believe we have to do this mission with him around," groans Danny under his breath.

"To be fair, he's the reason we got the money to DO this mission in the first place," repeats the older sister with tangerine kissed hair. "So atleast until the world is saved, chill out. Not like you have powers to get rid of him anyway…."

"Don't bring that up-" Lance Thunder the reporter covering Fenton Works comes up to the kids asking info on the mission. Coming out of his small voice to overcome nervousness, Danny speaks, "My dad, Jack Fenton is piloting our new-"

"My new," corrects Masters.

"… The FENTON ROCKET!" This is out of obvious anger, "to destroy the asteroid."

Lance glances at the screen, where Jack seems to be in a serious trance. "He seems very serious." After a joke about the space food, the weatherman turns attention towards the chill and down to earth mayor of Amity Park, who explains that the Master's Blasters, his own team of ghost fighters mentioned earlier this chapter, are accompanying Jack and why.

"Jack, mission status!" speaks Maddie as she wears her mask.

The asteroid is in clear sight for the Fenton Rocket. Jack takes aim and fires twin drill missiles, both of which burrows into the thick green hide. After a five second countdown, the missiles detonate and successfully destroy the space rock. The explosion sends flames and igneous stones everywhere, shaking the ship but allowing everyone to celebrate.

Until the real one comes out past the smokescreen, its humongous size and skeletal face proof that they failed. The Disasteroid passes by the rocket as the blasters team take their aggression out on Jack for his mistake. "No, this can't be! I couldn't have messed up; Vladdie even punched in the coordinates himself so I WOULDN'T screw up!"

While he's being pummeled, down on earth hope becomes lost. Maddie takes her daughter away as the news team exit, leaving only Danny left down below. He is about to leave too, but bumps into Vlad. In an obvious fake voice he states, "Whoops, looks like I punched in the wrong coordinates! Well, you know how bad we are at math. Looks like Jack failed again, and at a time where the world needed him the most."

"I don't see you pulling any heroics, ya Dracula ripoff!" Danny snaps, glaring at his calculative arch-nemesis with unbridled hatred. "What have you done besides have others do work for you?"

"And where are you when the world needs a hero, Danny Phantom?" taunts the billionaire. "Looks like my plan to discredit you worked better than I thought. Now you're powerless, weak and worthless, and just when you could have turned it all around."

The news continues on the monitor as they argue. "Why aren't you as bothered by this as the rest of us? We're all gonna die, including the ghosts in their realm."

"I'm getting reports that scientists have discovered the Disasteroid's origins, from the rings of Saturn two weeks ago!" speaks the reporter, catching their attention.

"Saturn… wait a minute…" It all comes together in his head, like the missing piece of the puzzle. "It was you! You sent that thing when your satellite blew up! And now you're gonna hold the world hostage because you have a way to destroy it!"

"How calculated Daniel." Vlad transforms, black rings forming around his body to turn him into his ghost form, Vlad Plasmius. His black gloves manhandle Danny by the collar. "Getting rid of you was the first act. Time for step 3!" He then throws him into the broken Fenton Portal, laughing as he flies away invisible.

…

17 hours have passed since that moment. At city hall of Amity Park, people have gathered for a meeting of the mayor's final plan. On the sidelines just far enough from everyone, Danny, Sam, Tucker and Jazz are together listening to the announcement.

Questioning why she has to deal with the silver haired Luthor, our gothic teen asks, "So, why are we here?"

"Vlad has a plan to destroy the meteor he's been keeping to himself, and I intend to find out what that is," Danny tells her, rubbing his cheek of the wound he received from being thrown yesterday.

"Of course he does. He lives here too," his tangerine sister responds, waving her hand like it's not that big a secret.

"Wish we had one to counter," speaks Tucker.

"Actually, I do have a plan." Danny crosses his arms together as he talks his thoughts out. "If we can find Desiree, we can have her wish that asteroid away."

Sam flinches with sweat while Tucker calms down. "Huh… that, actually sounds plausible," he admits. "Well let's fire up the speeder and track her down. She can't be that far!"

"Uh, yeah, maybe come up with a different plan," says Samantha as she pushes her fingers together.

Suspicious, the skunk haired teen asks, "Why?"

Sam sighs. "So, remember how Desiree grants any wish she hears without control?"

"… yeah?"

"And that's why we each have to be careful not to say I wish with her around?"

"… No," Jazz speaks, already getting what she's driving at.

"I MAY have accidentally wished her to stay away from us for a while."

"WHAT?!" shouts the boys.

"Or, maybe just Danny." He grabs her shoulders angrily.

"How could you do that Sam?!"

"Look, what's done is done. No use crying over it!" At this moment, Vlad Masters comes out to give his speech.

"Citizens of the Earth, I have news that will impact the entire world!" Cameras reel in to get a better look. "Though every attempt to destroy the asteroid has failed, I have come up with a veritable solution." Vlad stands on the desk as he says these next few words. "Though I'm certain you will all find it amusing." He then jumps, flying through the air. Floating before everyone with a a cocky expression, he laughs transforming into his ghost form.

Everyone looks in shock at the perplexing situation, even Danny and his team who could not have seen this coming. Taking action, the red busters aim their weapons at the half ghost billionaire. He responds by taking out a switch and pressing a button, causing their gear to shut off.

The girl of the group complains, "What happened to my radical gear?!"

"I was the one who made it, so I installed a kill switch for this very moment. Genius, right?" The vampire ghost states, before firing purple ghost rays that eradicate their hearts. As they lay dying, the crowd screams. He then introduces himself, revealing himself as his real name Masters and his ghost name Plasmius.

"Vlad's a ghost?!" Maddie speaks in shock, before recognizing him as the ghost who Jack fought during that visit.

"But onto my plan; the nations of the world must surrender to me and make me undisputed ruler of the Earth. In exchange, I will make the meteor transparent, and have it pass through the planet harmlessly. You have one day to give me your response; good bye." He then laughs, disappearing while leaving his message to all.

…

As the date comes to pass, the UN unfortunately surrenders to Vlad's ways. The manipulative cheesehead grins as he signs the treaty, making him dominant ruler of the planet so long as he does his magic. With the treaty in hand, he and Jack take the Fenton Rocket back up into space.

The spaceship continues its trek into space. With the Disasteroid not far away, it's a matter of hours before the fudge loving scientist and the smug master planner reach the meteor. As the emerald shine bathes them in its light, Vlad gets up to leave. 'I've got to talk to him.'

"Vladdy, how could you hold the entire world ransom? After all the good fortune to befall you?" The vampire stops, turns around and grabs him by his suit collar.

"GOOD FORTUNE!? Take a minute to use that fudge coated ice cream sandwich you call a brain and think about it! I have ghost powers; you really think all my investments was 'good fortune?!'" He pushes him back. "The only fortune came from me surviving the ghost DNA you infected me with!"

"I infected…" Then it hits him. "You mean, I-"

"YES!" His eyes flare red. "This is all your fault! The reason I had ghost acne, the reason I lost Maddie to you, the reason I went through great lengths to come this far! Because you couldn't pay attention to what you were doing!"

He then groans about diet cola, and prepares to leave. But Jack remains persistent. "But Vladdy, that was an accident. You act like I did it on purpose; you're my friend! I freaking voted for you!"

"I'll remember that when I force Maddie to be my queen." He then laughs maliciously as he exits the ship, flying towards the Disasteroid. Passing by space rocks he reaches the green star of doom and comes up to it. All of his accomplishments and turmoil stretch across his mind as he grasps the top of the stone, and is struck with immediate pain.

"GRAAAH!" Spectral hands raise up from the emerald poison. The ghost vampire stares at his hands as they spark. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Meteor is composed entirely of radiant materials including consolidated ectoplasm," speaks virtual Maddie.

"I know that! Why can't I touch it?!"

"Radiation has transformed it into a new element, which releases an effect similar to blood blossoms. Spectral entities made of green ectoplasm are burned upon contact."

The shock and fear hit him as he shudders, removing his space helmet. Since he's a ghost now the vacuum of space has no affect on him. "A new element, immune to ghosts…no. NO! Do you know what this means?!"

Jack watches out from the window of the ship, his words being broadcast to it and the command station down on earth. "If it resists ghosts then I can't touch it! No ghosts can! Which means, the meteor's going to hit. The planet is doomed!"

Vlad turns to the ship. "Jack! You gotta help me! You wouldn't abandon an old friend, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't." Without a word left, he pilots the ship turning it towards home.

Abandoned, Plasmius glances at the blue marble doomed to imminent destruction tomorrow. The defeated man throws away his helmet, and flies away.

Back on Earth, the whole world has witnessed what happened. While glad that they won't have to submit to scum like Plasmius, their situation hasn't changed. Hell, back in Fenton Works' basement the four teens – Jazz, Sam, Tucker and Danny – are now worried about what to do having seen the broadcast.

Jazz then suggests, "How about the drill missiles? Surely they can work on the real one!"

"There won't be any time," Tucker tells her, his technological nerdy self having already made calculations. "Maybe if we had another day, but Vlad intentionally wasted time so he'd be the only option! If he was gonna be so thorough he should have checked what that rock was made of."

"What are we gonna do…" Sam wonders, turning her eyes over to Danny.

"I have one," he says, standing tall and inquisitive as his friends and sister look to him. "It's like Vlad's plan, but I know it can be done!"

"That won't be necessary Phantom." Just before he could finish his explanation, a figure passes through the ceiling above descending upon him from behind. The light refracted figure regains her color, revealed to be Reina Dark. "Because you are coming with me."

"Great, just what we need, another evil ghost." As Tucker jokes, Danny rushes to activate the defense systems.

"Clock Out!" The golden knight moves fast, appearing in front of Danny before he could turn the building against her. She grabs him by the collar, telling the others, "I'm taking Danny Phantom if you please."

"No we do not please!" shouts Sam taking out a plasma rifle. Jazz takes out the Fenton Peeler, and the girls fire.

"Time Out." She disappears in a flash, dodging all of the attacks. Danny goes with her.

"DANNY!"

With Reina, she takes the frightened white and black haired teen to Plasmius' abode. Diving down into the basement floor at her high speed, she passes into the lab and enters the ghost zone. "Here we go."

"What do you want from me?"

Reina glares at the boy, stating, "Do not get snippy with me boy. Without your powers or even the Doomsickle you're no threat," before flying through the black-green skies. Using Clock Out she moves fast enough to reach Clockwork's Tower before he could ask what that was.

Landing in his time zone, Reina drops him down before the toddler ghost. Clockwork looks down upon him, growing up as an adult in an instant. "Welcome."

"Clockwork, what's all this about?"

"I'm sure Reina Dark didn't tell you the truth," says the time wizard as he glances over at an object hanging on a wall. "And I'm sure you were about to kill yourself to perform a stupid attempt to save the world."

"Kill myself?" Clockwork then points his staff to the time window, showing Danny and his friends heading to the Ghost Zone on the Specter Speeder and him blown up in the machine.

"You were going to gather all the ghosts in the Ghost Zone, and have them make the Earth transparent in a dangerous, foolish, pointless plan." The ageless specter turns into an old man. "It is dangerous because you're still human. It is foolish because even if you didn't die, you wouldn't have enough time to create a device to transfer the intangibility to the entire planet. And it's pointless, because the planet won't be destroyed."

"Huh?" The time window then changes, showing this timeline's current flow in the real world. The Disasteroid approaches the earth, as everyone in the world cowers and prays to whoever in despair.

"Watch and behold."

* * *

Kei: He says before the cliffhanger. See ya next chapter.


	3. The Third Darkness

_Blackness Phantom featuring Danny Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Kei: Just one thing we forgot to mention, in this story canon the events of Reality Trip did not happen.

Yusei: Since everything gets erased that episode pretty much is pointless. But there is one thing from that special that we think could work that we want to incorporate.

* * *

 _ **The Third Darkness – Rebirth**_

* * *

In the real world, the Disasteroid soars through space as it enters the solar system. Green chunks fly off the emerald meteor, as it reaches the earth. Where the sun would shine upon it, the color of ghost green infects the planet's light. Billions brace for their imminent death.

Jack and Maddie clutch their daughter Jazz as they prepare for death. "No matter what happens, I just want you to know I love you all."

The tangerine haired young adult holds herself as she cries, staring up at the emerald sky just outside their home. Maddie looks around for her son, asking, "Where's Danny?!"

More desperate, she goes to her daughter and screams, "Jasmine, where's Danny!"

The asteroid finally reaches the earth, colliding with the exosphere. Upon impact, the emerald rock breaks upon touching the thinnest and highest layer of the atmosphere, stopping in place. The sky cracks as well, red lines spreading over the green air like broken glass. As the world looks up to see their world still intact, the skeletal face of the emerald smiles before it completely shatters. Millions of pieces float over the planet, the smaller ones passing into the atmosphere and the bigger chunks floating aimlessly in the dark vacuum.

Silence fills the planet as they take in what happened. Once it finally sinks in, everyone happily cheers for their salvation. People who were fighting eachother now shake hands, for everything is forgiven. In that very moment, all faults and evil the others are accused of having are forgotten, for the world they live in is safe.

Watching this peaceful moment in Clockwork's location, Danny gives a sigh of relief as everyone is safe. "Thank goodness. The earth is safe…"

"For now." Clockwork turns around as he talks, turning into a child. He points at the screen towards the sky, where the cracks from before around the planet continue. No one's reaction shows that the cracks are invisible, despite their obvious touch on the world. The cracks continue following contact with the others, and shatter finally. What is left are black skies, which quickly turn back blue.

"What was that?" asks Reina and Danny. The sky is falling, and no one knows. Yet, the only thing that remotely lets them know something is wrong was the brief blackness they saw. The former half ghost comes to a thought, and asks, "Why did the asteroid shatter?"

"That asteroid wasn't constructed by Vlad Plasmius if you must know."

"Obviously. Otherwise, he'd have known he couldn't touch it."

"Let's go back a tale to properly explain this." Clockwork summons a new portal, which shows the universe: "The universe we live in is composed of dimensions. Earth is a part of the Cosmic World dimension, the real world and where anything that exists in space lives. Next is the Other World dimension, where the Ghost Zone exists as the opposite of the Earth. Above them is the Over World dimension. This is where ghosts who live right enough go when the pass over."

"Pass over?"

"Of course, kid," speaks Reina with an air of arrogance. "Ghosts go to the otherworld to escape going to the other side, because when you die you're either worthy of paradise and reincarnation, or you go to the Under World regardless of unfinished business."

"Underworld? Is that like hell and stuff?"

"Exactly." Clockwork goes on to explain that. "The Underworld is where ghosts who fail passing over go, and are imprisoned until their sins are wiped. Since the fear of the Underworld is that mighty ghosts inhabit the Ghost Zone and live their whole afterlife there. That led to the establishment of order and the rise of the Ghost King to power."

"Ah, such dark times…" Reina speaks with bliss and pride.

"There is one more dimension I have yet to mention, and that is where our main conflict arrives." He shows them visions of black creatures shaped like skeletons of angels. "Life for spirits is an endless cycle of reincarnation: you live, you die, you're revived as a spirit, you pass over, and you're reborn as a new person after you pass over. But there are the exceptional. There are spirits, ghosts, who intentionally drop out of the reincarnation cycle. They are… well, I believe you humans call them the Tirthika."

"… the what?"

"I would prefer a more simple name, the Fallen." The black ghouls roar and shriek as they attack, destroying all that lays before them. "Unlike ghosts these are more along the lines of monsters, aimlessly destroying everything in their path. They consume those on the path of reincarnation, and drag them off with them."

"They what?!" This gets both of their attention.

"These demons exist outside of the cycle of reincarnation; they don't have real bodies of their own, and need to possess others in order to enter our world. That's why there was a barrier around the world, to seal them in their dimension."

Danny takes in his words there, and looks at the screen frightened. "Then…that's what it hit…" Fear begins to return to him. "Why? Why did you let this-"

"I told you, nothing could stop it. Your intangible plan wouldn't have worked on the barrier; it was placed there by magic, not something ghosts can touch."

"But you must know how to stop this! Otherwise this is just a waste of time!" Clockwork goes over to the wall, picking up the scythe hanging. He presents this crescent weapon to the young hero, but leaves it out of reach. "What's this?"

"Your weapon." Danny examines the weapon with awe, believing this to be new. "The Doomsickle is a tool made in ancient times, one of seven called the Artifacts of Darkness. The only way you can restore your powers in time to fight them is by accepting this."

"How?" The scythe begins to ooze, black ectoplasm surrounding the entire weapon. "What the?"

"You gained your powers by having ectoplasm infused with your DNA. This will do the same, without the side effects from last time."

"The what?" Danny stares at the oozing scythe. "So, this will give me back my powers, but make me stronger? How does that work?"

"It already has your DNA inside, so it can restore your powers and make them stronger. If you're not careful, you may end up losing a part of yourself." Clockwork holds it out to him. "The choice is up to you."

The little Fenton continues to look at the bleeding weapon, and then at Clockwork. This wouldn't be the first time the timeless specter used him, and knowing him it won't be the last. 'He's giving me a weapon that will become one with me… if this was a bad idea he would know…' "Okay."

The ooze stretches out and latches onto Danny, entering into his pores and down his throat. He chokes as they shuffle down his lungs, spreading through every section of his body. His eyes turn black as he gargles ectoplasm, the colorless blood bonding to his DNA.

…

As this happens, the denizens of the ghost zone watch from their 'safe' spots as the Earth is spared its horrid fate. Skulker wipes his head clean of sweat seeing that.

"Phew." He flies away with a calm, happier expression. He has much more to plan now that the world is safe. While midflight he passes by his girl Ember, who joins him.

"I guess it only affects ghosts or something," speaks Ember, also glad with the results as they are.

"Now, time to hunt down that little whelp!" he declares, making Ember facepalm. "What?"

"Ugh, idiot." Her makeup brows as she frowns. "Where have you been the past week? The dipstick lost his powers; there's no point in you hunting him anymore."

After what seems like forever of pausing, he screams enraged. "That fool! The most valuable prize in the human world, and he's now just like everyone else!"

"Yeesh, chill out. This is totes not attractive."

"Totes? You say that now?" The ghost hunter groans fearing her about to annoy him like that.

Elsewhere…

" _I can't believe this is how my afterlife is ending!"_

" _Desiree-"_

" _Go away! You should be glad! Afterall another one of your enemies will soon disappear! You should be rejoicing. I won't be causing more terrible wishes, I won't be able to create my paradise, and I'll never find the one person I want to spend my life with…"_

" _I wish you were fully healed!"_

"GAH!" Gasping for air Danny awakens, having fallen unconscious from the bonding. He stares at the sky and sits up, feeling more energetic than usual. He holds his hand up and feels a white power in his fingertips.

"Did it work?"

"Why don't you try it out?" He points at his hair, which has turned completely raven black like usual.

Danny stands up tall, and raises his fists. He shouts, "I'm going ghost," and a white ring form around him. Sparks of black energy pulsate around the rings as they pass over him, transforming Danny Fenton into Danny Phantom. Fully powered, his body continues to release black sparks that occasionally streak his jumpsuit.

"I'm back! But, I feel strange…" He shakes his arms testing his body. "It feels like I'm on a sugar high without the side effects."

"Your body is still adjusting to the changes the Doomsickle gave you. Reina will fill you in on your enemy."

"I was wondering where that stalker was."

"Don't say that in front of her. The daughter of Pariah Dark isn't one for name calling."

This gets a rise out of Daniel. "Wait, Pariah Dark? Ew! That guy had a daughter?!"

"Need I remind you of Box Lunch?"

His cheeks turn green. "Please don't."

"For now I suggest you go home and get a handle on your power before they arrive. Your family's worried about you." After gaining the advice from the young Clockwork, Phantom flies out of his realm.

As soon as he's gone, the now father aged timelord turns around at his new guest. " **Gnimoc siht ees t'ndid uoy teb.** "

"You'd be surprised." His hand grabs a time medallion.

" **Krowkcolc, emit ruoy gnitsaw er'uoy.** **Uoy lla fo tsael, w** **on su pots nac eno on.** " The guest makes his exit, his archaic language as well as the medallion taken with him. The entire realm then becomes a shroud of red.

Back with Danny, he flies through the ghost zone heading for the Fenton Portal. But then he stops remembering it's destroyed. "Oh yeah… what now?" He could go back to Vlad's, if only he could do that time thing Reina did. That is a mystery to him.

"Wait." He digs into his pocket and takes out something he brought with him, a special item he left back home because he forgot to return it to Frostbite; the Infini-map. "That's right. I was gonna use this to get to the Ghost Zone and get them to help turn the planet intangible."

He opens the map up, and locates a portal opening up. He moves at high speed towards it. "WHOA!" Stopping, the energized phantom realizes how fast he's gotten, surpassing 112 mph easily.

'Too fast. I need to slow down.' Danny pulls as he flies, keeping at a slower speed as he soars through the emerald skies. He comes to the portal, watching it open up before passing through. As he does, familiar figures watch him.

Amity Park…

In the real world, Danny flies out from the green portal soaring through the skies. He glances around and spots green chunks of various sizes laid out across the fields, including on top of the Nasty Burger. Government vans drive around collecting the rubble, most of them the Guys in White.

'Bout time those jerks did something good.' He sits down next to a piece, which immediately burns him. He cries out, exposing his position.

"It's the Ghost boy!" Guns aim at him, forcing Danny to fly away. No point in staying in a hostile zone next to his Kryptonite.

"Besides, the others are probably wondering where I've been.' He reaches Fenton Work and enters, sliding into the basement quietly. "Where is everyone?"

A chill escapes his lips, putting the boy on edge immediately. "Who's there?!"

"That's who with a capital W by the way." A net shoots out and entraps him to the wall. Skulker stands at the ready with his blaster arm aimed at his face.

"Skulker?"

"You know, I was a little worried when I found out you didn't have your powers. But seeing you in your ghost form is a huge relief. Now I can add you to my shelf of trophies."

"What trophies?"

"What? I have other pursuits besides you," he barks back. Skulker then shots at him, a blast Danny blocks with ease using a barrier. He holds out his left hand to fire a beam, and from it the Doomsickle materializes slicing him out of the net.

"Whoa!" He jumps when the scythe appears in his hand. "Better be careful not to do that in the bathroom."

"Wait, where did that come from?" Without answering, Danny swings the weapon. The scythe extends from its chain shaft, stretching enough to reach out and lop off Skulker's arm. He steps back seeing his arm completely cut clean off. "Well that's sharp."

'I'm starting to remember how it's used… but why do I remember?' He swings towards Skulker again, who ducks underneath fully knowing how it works now. Danny then pulls, the blade ripping through his torso now. With the surprise taking the hunter over, Phantom flies over and slashes off his head. "You won't be needing this."

"Yes I do!" Danny turns around remembering the Ghost portal is still down. With that he grabs the thermos and seals him inside.

"Not bad for my first day back on the job. Still, I better be more careful; if that scythe can cut through Skulker that easily it can effortlessly kill a ghost."

"Who's down there!?" Taking Danny by surprise, Jack jumps out from the top steps, rolling into a wall. After his bowling ball incident, Maddie jumps down gracefully with her gun aimed at Danny. Once she knows it's him, she drops the cannon.

"Danny? DANNY!" shouts his mother as she rushes towards him happily. The half ghost is taken by surprise when she hugs him, when normally the traditional response is shoot first and asks questions never.

"Wait, what?" He pushes her off. "Hold up, aren't you gonna try and kill me?"

"It's okay. We know…" Jack, having recovered, says this as he comes over, also hugging his boy. "Jazz told us everything."

"She what?!"

"You were gone when the Disasteroid hit. We were so worried…" Maddie confesses this as she hugs her ghost son. "Then Jazz told us you were taken by a ghost, and why…"

"It was strange to take it in, but it all made sense when we thought about it. Especially after what Vlad said… if it could give him powers then it could do the same to anyone else…"

"Yeah, that's why you don't put an on switch inside a dangerous device…" After his joke, Danny turns to face his mom and dad, before looking away ashamed and then returning to normal. "I'm sorry I lied to you, for keeping this a secret from you…"

Jack pats his head. "It's okay. I mean, why wouldn't you? With all our talk about destroying and dissecting ghosts of course you were afraid. I'd be scared out of my wits too!"

"I really wished you'd told us sooner. I almost killed you so many times after all."

"I'm sorry I didn't. But, now things have changed. No more secrets from now on." The half ghost reaches out and embraces his parents.

"Danny!" Three new voices enter into their heartwarming moment, where both Sam, Tucker and Jazz run over to embrace their formerly missing friend.

…

Deep in the realm of the Ghost Zone, Reina Dark floats through the skies as she searches with solemn vigor. She comes upon a castle situated in the epicenter of the purgatorial dimension. Drawing her golden sword from the dragon like device on her wrist, she carves the guarding skeletons like turkey before moving forward.

"Rude zealots." She continues until reaching the top room. In the dark depths of the hollow bastion, a crimson sarcophagus rests tall. "Thank you Clockwork, for your gift to me."

She takes out the skeleton key, an object capable of unlocking any lock. With her key in hand, she inserts the key into the lock, and dramatically turns. Crows shriek nearby. "Welcome back, father."

* * *

Kei: That brings this to an end. Next time, expect a follow up to that last part.


	4. The Fourth Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Takeshi: Welcome to a new chapter of Blackness Phantom. For those interested there's a poll up.

Yusei: This chapter is another build up like chapter two.

* * *

 ** _The Fourth Darkness: His Return_**

* * *

Reina steps back as the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep opens. Stepping out before the beautiful ghost is a towering statue of a man. His red hair as wild as a lion's mane blows in the atmosphere of his presence along with the bristled cape dark as midnight. His sole eye looks down at his daughter.

"Father, you have awakened." His response is to fire a beam from his eye, one she dodges using Clock Out. He then grabs the air and her neck, stopping her time slowing technique to slam her into the ground.

"Why my beautiful daughter, so long have I last seen you," speaks the ghost king in his powerful voice. "My previous return to the world beyond rest, and your presence was gone. Had you arrived and assisted me then I may have defeated that neophyte."

She is released soon after his words. Pariah Dark then speaks, "How did you free me?"

"In exchange for my services, Clockwork forked over the location since Plasmius didn't take it with him." She stands back up with mild coughing. Her eyes show resistance and pride. "You may be free, but your power will never be the same."

Reina points to her father's arm and head in that order. "The Artifacts of Infinity are gone forever. We're not your servants anymore."

"Is that so?" The giant ghost crosses his arms. "Then care to explain who exactly you belong to?"

"Myself!"

"Wrong!" A swipe of his hand generates emphasis. "You are my daughter! As long as I breathe as a ghost you serve me!"

The ghost king narrows his one eye and looks upward through the hole in his castle roof. "The barrier… It's gone!?"

"So you've noticed…" She draws the Melibur and takes aim at him. "Do you understand now? There is much more at stake than your right to rule. If the barrier is down, then he will return. I freed you so you could assist me, and Danny Phantom in destroying them."

His voice shows obvious anger. "You wish for me to help that scrawny whelp?!"

"That scrawny whelp shoved you back in that sarcophagus, and he's stronger now with the Doomsickle in his possession. That means he is the only one who can destroy them."

Pariah pauses. He grasps his eyepatch and growls. "…on one condition."

The Fourth Darkness – Revelation

It's been a week since the incident pertaining to the Disasteroid. At Amity Park Penitentiary, two men from the Guys in White come together before a familiar person. This pale faced bastard lifts his head, his red eyes spotting them.

"Oh. If it isn't the Guys in White, government sanctioned ghost hunters who can't catch a single ghost," he barks, yellow teeth bared with a grin.

"We caught this one," says the darker skinned agent J, who presses a button showing the tattoo ghost Lydia in confinement.

"Lydia!"

"Quiet Frederich Isak Showenhower," speaks the lighter skinned one K. "We have a few questions for you." The magician turns his eyes over glaring at him.

"What do you want?"

"We've looked your case over, and know you have intel on supernatural items. It's how you could control ghosts," speaks K as he presses a button. This opens up a panel showing an opaque gauntlet. Underneath are gemstones: a topaz, a ruby and a sapphire. "We were hoping you knew something about this."

"The Reality Gauntlet…" he mutters, adding aloud, "there are some stories about it that I don't know for sure."

"We know that it's a very powerful item, and that it has something to do with those gems. With it we can have it erase ghosts permanently, including this one." J reveals a picture from a file of classified documents. This shows Danny Phantom.

"Where did you find it?"

"After the incident with the Disasteroid certain new areas became discoverable."

"That's not a word," speaks K.

"You know what I mean!" J then continues. "In one such area we found this."

"I see…" The two agents then stare, pressing for his compliance. "I can try it for it, if you wish."

The two look to eachother and then at Freakshow. K collects the gauntlet and hands it to him. "Don't try anything."

"Oh, what can he do?" J says, tempting fate. "The thing doesn't work and we've patted him."

"Oh, yes. I'll be nice." He lies, watching as K hands it to him. Freakshow then looks at the gems in the cart before him. "You see, from what I've heard the Soul Gems are manifestations of reality crystallized into gemstones. For example…"

Freakshow then points to the ruby. "The Soul Gem of Life has the power to give life to what it touches." He moves to the topaz. "The Gem of Form alters anything into any shape." Finally he comes to the sapphire. "And the Gem of Fantasy makes one's thoughts into reality."

K takes away the gauntlet after his explanation. "If that's true, why doesn't it work?"

"Oh there's a simple reason for that. The gems only activate through physical touch. But they need to be charged first, with the gauntlet."

Looking at it, K tries it on and inserts the Gem of Life. After random testing, nothing comes of it. "Nothing."

"Hmm… Let me try." The agents glare at him, before unlocking the cuff on his right arm. A shadow crawls around and attaches itself to Freakshow's, causing him to twitch.

"Something wrong?"

"No, just a headache." His eyes flash a dark red for a brief second.

"So, how do you activate this thing Freakshow?"

"Oh, that's also obvious." He inserts his hand into the gauntlet. "The Gems need a power source to activate them, which is either the spiritual energy of someone who touches it or the Gauntlet's power source. You see, the Reality Gauntlet itself doesn't work either without that specific power source." He then smiles deviously. "Which just so happens to be here."

He pulls off his sole earring, and attaches it quickly to his gauntlet. "STOP HIM!"

"Perfect!" He activates the Gem of Life and fires a red beam, just as they take out their weapons. They become snakes and entangle their owners, causing the agents decked in white to crash. "I literally can't believe that worked. How stupid are you guys?"

With the power of the gauntlet he then brings the cuffs to life, freeing his other arm and legs. Free, Freakshow takes a key card from K's pocket, and uses it to unlock Lydia. As she recovers, he attaches the other two to the gauntlet. "Welcome back, Lydia."

Together, the two villains take their leave from the compound. His loyal subject carries him with her. "I have the ultimate power on my hand. Unfortunately, without the right combination I can't control reality. But, this works for now." His voice takes a dark turn. "First things first, revenge."

He looks at a photo of Danny Phantom he took as he left. Lydia gives him a look through her hood. "You're thinking how about we just try every combination we can think of right?" Lydia nods.

"We might set off the self destruct feature." Her eyes narrow. "What? I wrote a book about it; I didn't make it." They take off into the daylight skies.

…

"And so with that, class is formally dismissed. Go with the grace of god." The school bell rings, and the students run out the building. Spring break is here, and with the end of the world finished with no one wants to waste their lives in school any longer than they have to.

Danny collects his books and prepares to meet up with his friends. But then his books get knocked to the barely swept floor, courtesy of Dash Baxter. "Last day before spring break, which means the last time to do this!"

The school's main bully grabs him and shoves the half ghost into the locker. After locking him in, he leaves shouting, "Ya better be there when I get back Fentonia!" He then comes back adding, "The a is because you're too wussy to be a boy."

With him gone, Danny phases through completely invisible, looking for anyone who could see him. Sighing he comes out, not having to lock up now. Annoyed, he gets his stuff up and throws them in the bag with his heart looking forward to this break. After all he doesn't have to deal with Dash any longer.

'He's about as threatening as the Box Ghost.'

Tucker comes up to join him. "Hey Danny. Ready?"

"Not yet. Sam's still in class." The two go to catch up with their goth vegan.

Said control freak is just coming out of class after everyone else has gone. Sighing she passes down a corner, coming face to face with the last person he wants to see. "How long are you going to keep stalking me?"

Standing in front of her is the genie ghost Desiree, in her brown skin attire. "How long are you going to keep me away from Danny and Tucker?"

"Don't front; the wish was to keep you from Danny, not Tucker." The pupilless goth narrows those purple eyes at her. "I don't know whatever your plan is, but I'll make sure you won't hurt him."

"My plan? You still think I'm out for revenge or something and this is all an attack to destroy him?" Insulted, the genie grasps her shirt. "How cute; you think you got me figured out. Or maybe you do and you're lying to yourself to keep calm."

"What are you inferring?"

"You pretend to be smart; why don't you think about it? Or better yet, why don't you wish it? Clearly you don't respect my own desires to not abuse my wishing power, so how about telling me to tell you my 'plan', Samantha?"

Sam pushes her back, enraged. "Don't ever call me Samantha! And you know what, I DO wish I knew what you were thinking!"

With a snap of her fingers, a pink mist enters Sam's head. After a blink, her eyes contort into shock. "You just want him to know your heart? As if you guys have hearts!"

Desiree shifts her long hair out of the way, exposing the eye that's always been hidden. She speaks, "You know, I had a sinking suspicion about you all the way back when you wished something terrible on that nearly flawless skinned Cuban and made the wish that removed his powers."

"You mean Paulina? Wait, nearly flawless?"

"According to Spectra, she's got a mole. Somewhere on her butt." Eyes remain wide at that news, before a dark look forms in Sam's eyes. "But now, it makes sense. On some subconscious level your feelings for Daniel are real, but only for one side of him." Sam's eyebrows raise up.

"Why do you-" It hits her. "You read my mind?"

"Ya got to be specific, otherwise it gives me liberties." She smirks deviously at that.

Anger, Sam prepares to state a wish. Desiree however shoves two fingers down her throat to shut her up. As she chokes out, the older woman continues: "I didn't really need to read your mind to confirm it, but knowing just how dishonest you are is sadly satisfying. I bet even if he asked if you had feelings for him you'd deny it."

"That… that's not true!" Desiree walks away after that. "And you better had washed your hands!"

"I did!"

With her gone, Sam goes off to meet up with her two only friends.

walk out the school building, the halfa hero bumping into his sister. Jazz drops her stuff doing so, prompting her brother to help pick it up. "Geez Jazz, watch it."

"You watch it Danny!" she replies, just as annoyed.

Danny picks up a book and reads the title. "Ghost envy?"

"I'm doing a project for class that needs to be ready by the end of spring break," she tells him, going all brainy again. "I've learned so much from this! I mean, did you know-"

"Save it Jazz." He hands the green book to her. "You know how mom would react if I did anything ghost related."

"Oh yeah, she still forbidding you from going ghost?" Sam asks with annoyance.

"Yup. That's why I'm wearing this." He reveals the bracelet around his arm. "The moment I go ghost scanners alert her to what I'm doing."

"Can't you just phase it off?"

"Got alerts to that too." He sighs. "Considering all the things I've been through you'd think she'd let me keep going."

"Right, because Valerie's dad is okay with her ghost hunting."

"I just gotta convince mom that it's okay. She can't be against it forever." More students head to the spring break concert just across the field of grass.

Those same kids run screaming when various ghosts attack them. The area gains a green veil, because it always does during ghost attacks, and the ghost boy sees their coming from the tattooed ghost Lydia. Bat tattoos attack Sam and Tucker, taking them away.

"After all, I may not have a choice." Danny goes to a secret location and transforms, his outfit now containing more black streaks on his person.

He flies off to exterminate the pests and save his friends as his older sibling shouts, "Danny!"

"I know! Get to safety!"

Meanwhile, Sam and Tucker fly through the air against their wills. Midflight, Sam asks herself, "Can someone remind me why we constantly hang out with a superhero with ghostly enemies?"

"Because no one else will hang with me, and you're crushing on him." Sam gives him the look. "What? It's pretty accurate if you ask me."

The two friends land by train tracks. As soon as they touch down, the bats wrap around them. There Freakshow stands with his signature locomotive and outfit. He grins glaring down at the two kids. Obviously, they recognize him. "Freakshow!" Sam shouts.

"Why, hello again. It feels great that you recognize me," he says with false joy. "How are things? Enjoy life as teenagers while I was ROTTING IN PRISON?!"

A ghost beam blasts him to the ground. Floating over a fence Danny arrives much to his friends' joy as he says, "Yeah. My aim's been getting better."

Freakshow fires from the Gem of Life, hitting the fence underneath him. Before he could gloat, the fence comes alive and entangles him. "So has mine." He glares down at his captives, saying, "I just came to let you know of my parole, before I tear your lives apart like a dead frog in a lab experiment!"

"That's oddly specific."

"I told you it was bad," speaks Sam to Tucker.

Danny breaks free and flies towards him, firing a green beam again to knock him back. "Show's over, freak." Lydia flies in and kicks him to the side.

"Au contraire, fantome. Our battlefield will be much larger than this, and with a much greater audience. With the Reality Gauntlet at my side, anything is possible." He summons his train and steps aboard. With the Life Gem it comes to life, and flies away with Lydia making it invisible.

Danny recovers just in time to see them fly off, losing visual the moment they become transparent. The bats also have left Sam and Tucker, the goth girl speaking, "Danny, what are you doing? Go after them!"

"Okay, and I'll develop the ability to see invisible ghosts WHEN?" There's no appreciation for that despite how true it is. Sighing, he grabs them and flies away. "We'll go to Fenton Works and try to make a means of tracking them. Or you know, wait til he shows up on the news."

"What, and wait for him to beat up Lance Thunder? It happens all the time; I'm starting to feel sorry for him." Ignoring Tucker he flies back to his home at Fenton Works. He lands in front of the door and turns back into Fenton.

However, once the door opens he sees his mom standing on the other side. "Uh, hi mom."

…

"Mom, I had no choice," Danny speaks as he tries to appeal to her. He's currently in the kitchen with his parents as Maddie paces around the table. Jack's eating ham.

"Of course you didn't. At this point you'll just rush into danger to save everyone, but I don't want you doing this anymore! I was pretty clear on that!" Her words sting into his soul. "I don't want my little boy being Danny Phantom anymore."

"But-"

"No buts!"

"I've been doing this for a while and saved so many people."

"That was before I knew you were Danny Phantom." She looks away sadden. "As strong as you've become, I don't think I can just keep watching as you get hurt. I even considered removing your ghost half and letting him, but you insist it's a horrible idea…"

"It is!"

"Ah Maddie, let him fight. He would make a great sidekick for Jack Fenton!" Jack states patting his boy's back.

"Jack, don't."

"This is a gift Danny has! He can ghost powers that he uses for the sake of good, a major step up from Vlad." His words turn bitter at the mention of Plasmius' name. "Unlike him he decided to be a hero almost immediately. It shows how well we raised him."

"Technically…" mutters Jazz as she walks by.

"He's not fighting!" Maddie argues.

Danny sighs as his parents get into another argument. As much as he'd like to retire, he can't. Considering the last time he did a meteor tried to end the world that's not a good sign. At the very least he needs to convince her that stopping it out of the question.

"As soon as I deal with Freakshow… and find out where Desiree is gone…" His thoughts go on back to his genie friend. Though as he does, he begins remembering more things.

Funny enough, he doesn't remember when they happened. "What's going on with me?"

"Ghost!" Moving quick, he returns back to the kitchen where everyone's watching tv. "It's Ghostapaluza at Casper High, as several ghosts have attacked the student body…"

That's all he needed; before his parents could call out to him, Danny is out the wall. The half ghost hero goes ghost as he calls his transformation, flying through the skies at full force towards the school.

'Sorry mom.' He reaches the school grounds in almost no time flat, seeing Lydia with her army of ghost tattoos. "What's all this?"

"Danny!" shouts Sam as she and Tucker are dragged through the air by tattoo bats. Again.

"We really need to start carrying blasters home," Tucker states.

"He's really taking this revenge thing seriously." He spots Freakshow on stage where the Humpty Dumpty concert is being held. "Show's over, freak!"

Freakshow responds to his charge by standing still, as the drum set in the shape of a spider sends a web trapping him. "Didn't you already use that line?"

"I'll work on my banter later!" Danny easily breaks free with a burst of black energy. He then grapples with Freakshow before he could activate his gauntlet, his fingers pressing the gems by accident in a random order.

He tosses the freak to the ground and grabs the gauntlet once again, pressing one gem a final time. This causes it to shine, in which both take the time to look at the device. Freakshow, amazed and thrilled, shouts, "You did it! You found the combination to activating the reality function. Now, I can control ALL of reality!"

"Uh oh…" Looking at the gauntlet he tries to pry it off him. "Then I'll just have to get it off you before you use it!"

"Let go of my gauntlet!" The two struggle it out, the audience trapped in their seats on edge.

'Can't let go, or else I won't exist! **Think of a place to send them!** ' He blinks in shock when that last sentence fragment enters his mind, because it didn't come from him. Or, he thinks it didn't come from him. 'Any place in the world, and his plans will be set back.'

Not second guessing himself, he thinks hard about a place to send them. As soon as he does, he gets blasted through a wall by the gauntlet's rainbow colored ray. He screams as he is sent flying through the air.

The same beam blows away Freakshow, causing all of his warping to come undone. Like a kid who suffered the reset button winning a game, he throws an angry fit. "They're gone. They're all gone! He must have activated the safety feature!"

Lydia lands beside him. "We must flee for now, but in dramatic fashion!" Using her tattoos, that is exactly what they do.

Meanwhile, Danny falls downward into the supply shed. "Danny!" Free again, for now, Sam rushes over to where her crush landed, going back to grab Tucker and pull him along. By the time they get there, Danny is sitting up feeling his head about to split.

"Ugh. When they say have a dose of reality, I don't think that's what they meant. I got a serious headache." His ghost form dissolves away, an effect similar to when he used to overuse the Ghostly Wail.

"Holy hell!" Unfortunately, they're not the only ones there. Also witnesses to his de-ghosting are the A-Listers Paulina Sanchez, Dash Baxter, that blond girl without a last name who calls herself Star, and Kwan. His human self exposed, they all gasp in shock. It's a bit of a mind bomb to learn that the ghost boy who saved their lives so many times is actually one of them. This fact is especially true for the likes of Dash.

Once Danny comes to his senses, he looks at them, and then himself. Noticing more people coming over, he looks up to spot a helicopter coming over. "Nobody saw that!" He then runs away with his two buddies, escaping further exposure to the public.

"Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, DAMN!" He curses as he runs, wishing Desiree was here more than ever.

"Well… it could be worse!" Sam states.

"Please don't say that," Tucker adds, knowing exactly what trope she's invoking. Eventually they break away.

* * *

Kei: That's it for today. Next chapter we continue this version of Reality Trip, with surprises.


	5. The Fifth Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Kei: Getting real sick of this guy.

Julia: Of course you are.

Kei: Don't start!

Julia: No, I think I will! You will not silence me just because you're the protagonist! Kenshin was, and as bad as he was he never kept others from voicing against him, child.

Kei: Least I'm not some-

Yusei: Okay, I'm gonna stop this right now and start the story… thanks a lot Fox.

 ** _The Fifth Darkness: Darkness of Reality_**

* * *

Freakshow and Lydia return to the train station. Removing his hat the showman of freaks stares at the empty Reality Gauntlet on his arm. "That blasted ghost boy! And just when I got the combination!"

Lydia pulls over her hood, her eyes making a suggestion. "Oh, that's a good idea! Go and capture their family!"

" **Noitseggus a ekam ot em wolla, that od uoy erofeb**." The two to over to the train, as another person walks by before them. " **Oh, sorry. You can't understand me like that.** " This man is a handsome adult dressed in a white shirt underneath an open coat that flows downward doubling as a cape. It's held together by three black straps on each side that cross together into an X and ends with many coattails. His black gloves also have a white x strapping around his forearms. His black pants have flapping leggings with white socks as he wears sandals. He carries a katana in a black scabbard on his right side. He himself has dark skin with silvery white hair and has yellow eyes with a red iris.

His hand clenches exposing only two fingers, before he stabs up through his jaw. Black stains the tracks, shocking them from not only the action but what they see. "Freakshow right?"

"Look, if you're trying to join my freakshow, I'm currently ret-" His hand grasps Freakshow's mouth, shutting him up.

This shadowed person then releases him just as quick, before saying, "No need for violence. I saw what you did with that kid over there, Danny Phantom. I want to provide my assistance."

"And just how can a strikingly dressed person like you help me?"

"Let's just say there's an alternative means of altering reality and bringing to you the objects you desire besides hostage negotiations."

The bald showman gives a blank stare, before saying, "I'm listening."

"Give me an hour, and I'll bring her to you."

Outer Space…

Out in the depths of the cosmic sea, Vlad Plasmius sits on a floating asteroid far from the Earth's reach. Being a ghost he doesn't feel the cold grip the vacuum has and supposedly doesn't need to breathe. Otherwise, he wouldn't be sitting on that rock without a helmet.

"Well, being a free roaming space nomad doesn't seem so bad. I have plenty of time to myself, and my thoughts. No one's hunting me after all…" As he accepts his fate, he hears clicking. The light sound of metal striking metal gets closer like clockwork.

" **Taht yas t'ndluow I won, mmh.** " A top hat floats down from above. This particular black hat of a baron's has gray cogs as decorations and red marks similar to blood stains. Black threads shoot out and attach to Vlad, drawing him towards the hat despite his intangibility. " **Gnissecorp, daolnwod yromem**."

After a few minutes, the threads retreat and enter the hat. A ghastly being forms from underneath. " **Memory download complete**."

"You've got a lot of nerve attacking me, Vlad Plasmius!" Purple energy forms in the half ghost's hands, before he fires them.

The specter holds still, allowing its body to absorb the energy. "Perish the thought Masters. I came to offer my assistance. Do you wish to take back what you've lost, or remain a free roaming space nomad?"

"What are you implying?"

"I am simply offering a chance to regain your life. Will you listen?"

Back to Earth…

It's midnight, and Danny, Sam and Tucker reach Fenton Works. The half ghost looks around, glad to see nothing but his father RV placed right outside the building. "Oh good. No one saw my face, and no one took a picture of it."

"Good. You don't want any of that publicity," speaks his gothic friend. "Danny, you get some rest. We'll try and find Desiree tomorrow to get their memories erased."

"Oh, NOW you want her help." Tucker receives a darker version of the look. "I mean, let's get going!"

The two take their leave from Danny's side. Though just before he enters, his too mature for her age sister comes out the door looking at him. "Jazz?"

"You might wanna sneak upstairs."

With Sam and Tucker they walk under the light of the moon as they head for their homes. The techno geek gives a concern glance to his gothic friend asking, "How are we gonna find Desiree anyway? She could be anywhere in the Ghost Zone by now."

"We don't have to look anywhere. Is that not right, Desiree?" She looks over behind her, and spots the ghost genie in her human disguise appearing in reality.

"Whoa! How long were you there?!" Tucker almost drops his stuff in shock.

"Ever since you got back from fighting Freakshow I've been tailing you from above." Her red eyes turn to Sam with spite. "Since the wish is still preventing me from being around Danny, I couldn't approach you with him around."

"Sam, call off the wish," Tucker asks of his friend. "We need to make sure Paulina and the others don't spill knowing Danny's secret."

"Is it really a big deal that no one knows who Danny is?"

Sam gives her this strange look. "Of course it is! Those a-holes can't keep a secret! If they tell it'll spread from the school, and then the Guys in White will find out and arrest him for dangerous experiments. Even worse, other people will constantly be after him wanting to know how he got powers."

The genie cups her chin. "Really? Then why has no one else tried that to ruin his life?"

"I've been wondering that too," Tucker adds. "Frankly, you ghosts carry the idiot ball allot. Especially Vlad later on; I mean, plotting to blackmail the planet using a rock he can't even touch?"

"We get it; it's a dumb plan!"

"Look, just get the wish over with." Desiree turns around looking across the street. She doesn't notice someone walking up to them from behind. "I'm sure your parents are worried about you two."

"Good." Sam prepares to speak her wish as clearly as possible, before all three are blown away by dark fumes. Getting up, the teens see a man handling Desiree with his left arm. "What now?!"

She struggles trying to break free, failing as he's too strong. "I'm taking your little genie friend. Good night."

"Wait! I wish-" Before Sam could finish, he sends a wave blowing them away. Both Tucker and Sam fall unconscious from the attack.

"You… what are you supposed to be?" questions the wishing ghost as she turns intangible. With it she manages to pass through, until black liquid shoots out from his arm. It splashes onto her, turning her back solid. It continues to spread until she's completely covered save her eyes, nose and hair.

The man snaps his fingers, calling forth two shadows from the darkness to take the kids away. With their work done, the two specters disappear in a puff of darkness.

It's morning at the train station tracks. Freakshow steps outside of his train in ugly pajamas with a loud yawn. "Man, what a night."

His associate walks out into the opening stretching. "About time you're up. Your present is over here." He pulls aside the busty genie he cocooned and brings her forward. The man removes the casing on her mouth.

"Present huh? Not even I can turn women in objects, but here you are-" He grabs her mouth to shut her up.

"Are you sure she'll be able to fix my problem?" Freakshow examines her head to toe, causing her to fizzle trying to smack him. "She doesn't seem anything more than a harlot with a cosplay fetish."

"Don't say cosplay like you're young."

"Oh yeah? How old are you?! Damn ghosts…" The ghost envied magician turns to her again, before asking, "How can she help me?"

"Just make a wish, and she'll grant it."

"Oh? But, why didn't you try it?"

"It only works on humans."

"Right, thanks…this better work." Freakshow then grins, before making his wish. "I want you to bring the Soul Gems to the Reality Gauntlet here right in front of me!"

Nothing happens. "No, you gotta say I wish."

"Why didn't you say that?"

"I shouldn't have to! You have ghost envy and yet you don't know how to use her power?" The magician thrashes about.

"I am not envious about ghosts! Least of all this harlot!"

Desiree bites on his fingers. Free she shouts, "I'M NOT A HARLOT!" while he whips his fingers about.

"Then prove it! I wish the Soul Gems were in my hands right now!" Annoyed, Desiree wiggles her nose – her arms are still trapped – and releases pink dust. His hands disappear. "UWAH!" The man laughs as Desiree gains a dirt eating grin. "You bitch! That's not what I meant! Where are my hands?!"

The red eyed genie keeps her mouth shut. "Oh, now you're not talking!" Black lightning shocks her through the plasmic structure.

"Better give him what he wants, otherwise be a hostage to be used against that ghost kid." Those red pupils go up a little wider, and she bows her head with compliance.

Afterwards, Freakshow wishes for his hands and the Soul Gems back. They return to him without any blow backs, where he gleefully says, "Oh, and when the stars align!" He places the gems back in order. "With the Gem of Life, the Gem of Form, and the Gem of Fantasy, slapped together on the Reality Gauntlet with its power source - and thanks to the combination I memorized seeing the ghost kid-"

"How did you memorize it? Wasn't it just a random way he pressed it?"

"Not the point!" He presses the gems in that order, causing the gauntlet to activate its true function. "-I now control all of reality!"

He stretches his arms up as the landscape changes to nighttime, complete with fireworks. "Ah great. I just woke up."

"With my power, I can rearrange the world into the twisted image it deserves to be!" Freakshow shouts before raising his gloved fist. The entire world slowly and surely alters, becoming a kingdom fit for a freak such as himself. "A freakdom fit for a king indeed… but, what's a freak show without freaks to laugh at? And I have just the recruit!"

He snaps his fingers, and before him appears a tear in the space time dimension. "Plug her ears." Obediently he cups her head, though she struggles futilely as Freakshow summons forth Danny Fenton from the hole.

The unfortunate half ghost looks around, wondering just what the hell happened. He turns around spotting Freakshow. "Freakshow! And… Desiree?"

"Danny, run!"

"You're trapped though aren't you? And I can't abandon you!"

"What?!"

"She can't hear you," replies the man dressed in black clothes.

"Can you hear this?! Let her go!" Danny goes ghost and flies towards him. Freakshow simply brushes his hand to the side, and Danny gets trapped in green tentacles.

As he drops to the ground, Freakshow leans downwards condescending Danny. He smile before saying, "You just forgot I was here didn't you?"

"Wait, how did you get the gems back? I… oh right, Desiree."

"I'm sorry Danny," speaks the genie.

"It's not your fault. I know your condition."

"What?!"

"Will you let go of her?!" Danny struggles to break free, but not only is he stuck, he can't even go intangible. Lydia appears and grabs his head, her tattoo of a blade appearing by his neck.

"No, I have a much more painful ending for him." With a snap of his fingers, the railyard is replaced with a circus. Underneath the tent they stand, with a 'willing' audience in place. Many watch with shock at what they see. "Ladies and gentlefreaks of all ages, come and see the christening of the universe's most powerful ruler! For his first act as commander in chief, he shall bring forth the end of the infamous ghost boy Danny Phantom!"

Murmurs go off seeing the boy in trouble. Among the audience members are his family, Sam and Tucker. "Danny!"

"This is not a good way to start the day," Tucker jokes.

"And now, my assistant, the… what's your name again?" He turns to the man in black.

"Zalam."

"The ghost swordsman Zalam will fillet him within an inch of his half life!" The swordsman draws his black blade, walking towards the downed ghost boy.

"Don't count on it!" Danny freezes his confinements and breaks free, before slithering with a ghost tail away from his slashes.

"Good. This wouldn't be interesting without resistance." He pulls out the scabbard and rushes forth.

Danny summons a green barrier that gets sliced through with ease, before turning intangible at the last second. Despite this the blade leaves a cut on his left shoulder. He cries out in pain as a black fluid oozes from his wound. "Ugh… a sword that can't be passed through, this is gonna suck."

Zalam raises his sword once more to stab Danny, but at that moment he summons the Doomsickle and blocks. "Not so fast!"

"Hm?" Zalam increases his pressure, failing to pierce through the weapon. 'It's not a weapon made of ecto energy? This wasn't in his data.'

Desiree sees the weapon and gasps. 'The Doomsickle! When did he get it back?' Though that point turns moot when she remembers what it did. 'Oh no, Danny! You have to get it off!' She feels helpless in this situation; she can't even grant a wish because Lydia took over the ear blocking role.

"Wait… since when did Danny use a scythe?" Maddie asks, still unable to escape. Otherwise she'd teach Freakshow a thing or two.

"Yeah, that's new to me too," replies Tucker.

"Who cares? We need to get free!" shouts Sam as she struggles in her confinements. "If we can reach Desiree she can wish the Reality Gauntlet away for good!"

Danny continues to block his blade. With each strike sparks fly from the shaft, but not a single nick on both weapons. 'It's able to block my attacks. Time to get serious.' Zalam kicks Danny backwards and takes flight. Dark energy forms around his sword as he raises it.

'I'll counter with my own…' A blast from the Reality Gauntlet freezes Danny into place. 'What?!'

"Oops! Well I never said I wouldn't interfere." Freakshow makes this fake sorry look as he speaks, before laughing.

Zalam sees this, glaring at him. He then swings, releasing an energy attack that consumes Danny into darkness. He cries out as he's blown backwards, slamming into an electric fence that just happened to form. The pain added with tires the poor boy out.

"Danny!" his family and friends say in unison.

"Freakshow, the assistant will finish the ghost kid. I was just beginning to enjoy myself." The showman pushes Zalam aside before going towards the downed Phantom.

"Change of plan. You gotta expect that if you wish to be in my act."

"Well, I figured the ringmaster of reality wouldn't bother wasting his time on a ghost," he replies, eyes narrowed with a glare. "I know you like ghosts, but this is a litt-"

"I don't like ghosts at all! I despise them all!" he declares. "And I'd erase them from existence if we didn't turn into them!"

"Oh." Zalam grins a bit. "If you want to become a ghost then just make it so."

He glares at the man in black. "I control all of reality; your non-existence is in the palm of my hand! A ghost such as yourself should watch what you say to me!" Danny manages to break free, only to get blasted by Freakshow again.

His dark yellow and red eyes turn over to face said ringmaster. "Then do what you must, and kill him."

"GLADLY!" He pushes him aside and faces the still injured Danny. His legs get turned into lead along with his arms, forcing him to stay where he is. Freakshow aims his arm outward. "Now hold still. I want this to hurt, A LOT." Danny braces for impact.

Just as a ray charges ready to wipe Daniel Fenton from existence, a flash of black passes through his arm. He blinks a bit staring at his arm, before Frederich Isak Showenhower cries out in pain when the Reality Gauntlet goes flying through the air.

Zalam reaches out to grasp the gauntlet, freeing it of the hand inside. "It's about time you let your guard down." Lydia flies in to attack, summoning her horde of tattoos. 'Weak.' He backhands his sword and slashes, releasing a stream of darkness that consumes her and her arsenal.

She cries out in horror as she's trapped in a sphere of darkness. As the audience looks with confusion and fear, Zalam attaches the gauntlet to his right arm. Freakshow proceeds to bleeding to death as he tries to fashion a tourniquet, shouting, "What is the meaning of this?!"

The composed swordsman says, "You pretend to be smart; think about it. Why would I work for you?"

"But you didn't even know I had the Reality Gauntlet until last night!"

"No. I knew this would happen, exactly how it happened, with this." He then raises his hand, revealing one of Clockwork's Time Medallions. While seeing it shocks Danny and the rest, he proceeds to put it away before using the gauntlet to release a wave.

"What are you doing?!" Danny shouts, still unable to move.

The world changes all around everyone, turning into a realm of darkness. Even their shouting is silenced in the void.

…

Elsewhere, in a realm of darkness, an army of nine figures shape themselves from the darkness.

" _ **Rood eht denepo yllanif ev'uoy, malaZ.**_ "

" _ **Ecafruser ruo rof emit si ti**_ _ **!**_ "

" _ **Erom ecno efil fo serusaelp eht ni egrogne nac ew. Tsal ta.**_ "

Their march begins.

* * *

Yusei: And this chapter is over. Next time, we will get into what exactly happened.

Kei: *still pissed* And for those who voted, thank you. The person who shall become the next half ghost is...well, you're just gonna have to find out.


	6. The Sixth Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Kei: Welcome to Danny Phantom's Blackness Phantom. Here we'll show just what exactly happened after that.

 _ **The Sixth Darkness: Alive**_

* * *

The darkness fades away. The light returns to the railyard they stand upon. Danny raises his head as he checks himself, and sees that he's back to normal. His formerly lead based limbs have returned to normal. "I'm back to normal? Wait, I'm still alive?!"

He glances over at where his friends were, seeing the circus tent is gone. He stands up and sees a woman lying in front of him. Just next to her, he sees Zalam with a calm expression and smile. "Finally awake?"

"What did you do?" Danny demands. His posture doesn't reinforce it however.

Zalam flexes his arm, before smiling more. The Reality Gauntlet is gone now. "Now we can ALL get through."

"All?"

"You freak!" Showenhower crawls to the scene, pointing out towards him with eyes downtrodden with anger. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm done now. I've already assessed your strength Phantom." The man in black ignores the freak for the most part to focus on Danny.

"This is why I should never make deals with ghosts you traitorous, dead-" Zalam turns an eye over to him. Freakshow's shadow begins to move, rising up to consume him. "Wha-" He cries out as the darkness seeps into his body like a straight jacket.

"I am a Heretic, or what you call a Fallen," he speaks, anger present in his voice. "We Heretics of the outer path are more than just ghosts, and I am the Heretic God of Darkness. You've been in my control since those men in white set you free."

"What?!" The darkness wraps around him, squeezing until the sound of bones snap away his feet.

"As for you, I prefer having a fair fight." He turns over back to Danny, who summons his scythe. "That's why I stole the Reality Gauntlet. I don't want either side cheating with some cheap wish granting object that hacks reality. If you want to stop us, do so on your own strength."

He then points to the downed female, before raising the gauntlet. "Now, later."

"Wait!" Danny flies in and swings the Doomsickle to strike it. He raises his blade to block, repelling Danny with one swipe from that sole arm. He stretches a hand out releasing a blast of dark energy that hits the half ghost hard.

Zalam moves in quick to stab at Danny, his steel of darkness stretching out to impale. But just as it reaches, a subzero wave of cold explodes outward to repel him. The cold reaches his sword and spreads down the tip, freezing despite the black blood that is on the tip. The blade fades into nothing down to where it was frozen.

'Hmm?' Zalam raises an eye glaring at Danny, and sees something beyond those lime eyes. This momentary distraction is just enough for a clone of Danny to fly in and strike his arm. His arm oozes black in response.

"Now you've done it!" Zalam enters his own shadow as he removes the gauntlet. The three prime colors shine in the remains of his exit.

"Damn. He's gone..." Sighing, Danny bends down to pick the gems up and stuff them into his pocket. "Well, at least I got a consolation. Better keep these safe so no one else can use them." He turns over to Freakshow or where he was. 'He really took him…'

That aside, he turns over to where the unconscious woman is. 'Who is she?' "Hey, are you okay?" He helps the woman up, patting where he thinks her shoulder is. The woman shifts a bit and raises her head. Their eyes meet.

She's a beautiful woman with cocoa brown skin accentuated by her long, ebony hair. Through that veil of midnight hair her eyes are shown, which are revealed as light blue crystals with clarity surpassing Paulina's. She has slim, toned legs and arms. She also wears the bright blue clothing he's only seen on one other person before.

Captivated, Danny turns to the side to calm his heart. A thought resurfaces from his mind when something comes to mind. "Desiree?"

"Danny?" She sits herself up, and stares at her arms. "I'm… I'm alive?!" Those diamond eyes look up at Danny, her face drenching as she reaches up to hug him. "I'm alive!"

"What's going on?!" He asks himself this, but honestly he doesn't mind.

Elsewhere…

Zalam reemerges from the shadow of a tree. He steps up and examines his surroundings, out on a road. Looking up he notes the sign that says, 'Amity Park, the Safest Place on Earth.' "Are you kidding me?"

From behind him a hand raises, crawling from the darkness. " **Malaz, gniod er'uoy kniht uoy od tahw**?" Zalam holds over Freakshow, who struggles about trying to break free. A hand stretches out and grabs his skull, words forming in proper English. "Where is he?"

"We just fought."

"And your assessment?"

"Challenging." His course lips purse into a smile. His eyes curve downward at his half a sword. "He has a ghost core of ice... That'll make this interesting."

"We did not send you there to pick a fight and leave empty handed. Where is the gauntlet?" He reveals the golden gauntlet, which only has the power source. "I can't believe you only have this. You fool!"

"Who said that's all I did?" He turns around to face the open skies. "I also found the location to the Soul Pen."

"...and why didn't you bring it to you?"

"Because that's no fun."

The black claw begins to change shape, altering to become more human like. The voice becomes more feminine before it continues. "I'll speak to you later. Right now I'm going to find a body."

She drags away Freakshow, muffles of horror coming from the straps around his mouth. Zalam's eyes follow before he sighs. Reminding himself of more important tasks he ignores the showman's fate to do what he wants.

Back with Danny, he lands back home with Desiree around an arm. "Danny!" His friends and family come up to visit him, is a lie. They just want to make sure he's still in one piece.

Maddie even pushes aside the dark skinned beauty to embrace her youngest child. "Danny, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Mom, it's okay. I'm fine." He squeezes free and tries to reassure her of his health, looking aside at his surroundings before turning back human. Once she gives a detailed examination of his body she finally relaxes.

"Danny…"

"Danny, who's that?" asks Sam. Her pupilless orbs target the likes of Desiree, who stares back.

"Why don't you take an educated guess?" She stares at the rich goth, her lips pursing with a grin as it comes to her.

Slapping her hands to her cheek she shouts like an anime character, "Desiree?!"

The sexy former ghost genie poses. "In the flesh, apparently and literally."

Maddie and Jack come up to her. "Wait, you mean the ghost genie you spoke about?"

"Whoa! Amazing!" Eyes turn to Jack. "What? I meant her coming back to life is amazing!"

"But how?" asks Sam, examining the woman's new body with a spiteful zeal. Those things put even Maddie to shame.

"The Reality Gauntlet!" Tucker voices his surmising with a snap of the finger. "Danny must have used it to bring her to life!"

"It wasn't me." Danny's words draw eyes towards him. "He used it… he said something about it being fair, and didn't want us cheating."

Desiree raises her hand, remembering where those golden bonds were. "He knew about my power. He made me grant the wish to bring the Soul Gems back, and used the power of the gauntlet to make sure I couldn't do it again…" Her diamond eyes turn to Danny. "I think that's what he was really aiming for, to get rid of my power. Now that I'm human, I can't grant wishes."

"That was rather nice of him," speaks Sam, her tone of an obvious salt. "Wouldn't it have been easily to destroy you? And who was this guy? Why did he know about you, and why is he interested in Danny?"

"I think I know why… this is the war Clockwork warned me about." Danny pats his friend's shoulder before smiling at Desiree. "But let's at it this way; Desiree no longer has to make wishes against her own. She is finally free."

That thought opens her mind a bit when it comes to her. Only now it finally hits her. "That's true… I'm free. I don't have to grant wishes… right?" Desiree turns to Danny grabbing his shoulder. "Let's try it! Wish for something outrageous like 'I want the Nile'! Wish for the now, right now!"

"Uh… I wish I had the Nile-"

"NO WAY!" she shouts, before laughing. Her joy overwhelms her as she jumps up and down. "OH, THAT FEELS SO GOOD!" She then grabs and embraces Danny, the ghost boy flushing in response.

Elsewhere…

"I'll jump!" shouts a woman atop a building. Police gathered around to stop her attempt to talk her out of it. Ignoring them, she takes a leap. Her body crashes into a car.

As people gather to see to her, darkness rises up and envelops the dead woman. Her body rises up, shocking those around her. Her face alters as she rises, becoming a slightly older woman. "The body of a suicidal woman… I will accept it gracefully." Her hair becomes dark blue as well.

…

Some time passes by after the events to befall Danny and the others. After explaining what Clockwork warned him about, his parents have moved downstairs to do take it in. The half ghost is up in his room now with Sam, Jazz and Tucker, trying to accept it as well.

"This is too much, and we've swallowed allot more than kids like us have been able to."

"Vlad that jerk, always making things harder on us!" The half ghost's sister fumes with hate remembering everything that vampire ghost has done. "I hope he never comes back."

"Still, I can't believe there's an underworld of ghosts who want to take over the world. Aren't every other ghost enough?" The techno geek makes a point they can't help but nod to.

"I still have to deal with it. Luckily, I have you guys to help me." Danny stands up with confidence growing inside him.

"Seems like this will be one of those things you'll try to accomplish yourself," Jazz surmises. "Which seems like what always happens." Her heart wavers as she reminds herself of this fact.

"What, you thought ghost fighting would always be as easy as shoving the Box Ghost in the Fenton Thermos? I knew a long time ago when Vlad first showed up that things would only escalate from there. When bosses like Pariah Dark and future me came and fought me, it started to sink. But, there's no reason to run from it." He pats Sam's shoulder. "Sam, you had a point. Someone needs to protect this town."

"What about leaving it to Masters' Blasters?" she gloats.

"Sam, that's not cool. They're dead remember?"

"They are?!"

"Danny, what are we gonna do with Desiree?" asks the tangerine hair kissed sis. Sam turns attention to that.

"She doesn't have a place to stay, so she can be here with us." Eyes squint at him. "What? She was a ghost a few hours ago. She doesn't have a home, a life, not even a job to support herself. What, you want me to leave her out on the street in a cardboard box?"

"We could leave her with Sam. She's rich," is his sister's response.

"She'll barely last a day." Sam glares at Tucker as he speaks.

The goth then makes a suggestion. "Why not Tucker's place? She'd be better off there!"

"Whoa, back up. Whaddya mean better off? No way my parents would allow me to bring in a grown woman!"

"I'm sure they'd be fine if you brought home any girl."

"That's cold."

"What about from then after? What can she do for a job?" asks Jazz this time.

Danny gestures to Tucker, who holds up his PDA. "We'll give her a fake resume and have her be a teacher at Casper High."

"I thought you didn't want her to live in a cardboard box."

"Ha, funny. But seriously, this is a nice thing. Desiree is human again; this is a great way for her to start a new life. You could at least give her a chance; without her ghost powers she can't really betray us."

A part of her sees that Danny has no intention in changing his mind. Huffing, she storms away with loud stomps along the way. Tucker immediately holds back Danny knowing he would go check on her. He then goes out to where she is, closing the door behind him. Unfortunately, he comes before Desiree and Sam in another stare off.

"What, you gonna say something to me again?"

"Do you want me to?" The former ghost genie walks away at that.

The two alone to themselves, Sam begins speaking. "Why… why does Danny care so much about her? She just decides to apologize for what she did and become his friend, and he accepts it like he knows she'll never betray him."

"I do remember something when we were in that tent." Tucker cups his chin as he thinks. "I had to use my PDA to get a good look, but it seemed she reacted weirdly when she saw Danny's scythe."

A thought resonates with her. "Something happened between them, and it has to do with that scythe…I'm gonna find out what."

Back inside Danny's room, Danny places a Fenton Thermos in a secret place underneath his bed. "Why are you hiding it?"

"Let's just say there are dangerous things in this thermos that I don't want anyone else to touch."

Downstairs, Jack and Maddie sit together in the kitchen. Not even responding to Sam and Tucker leaving, they stare at the table into space. It's become tiring learning that your youngest child is going to be hunted by monsters.

"Danny…" Maddie looks at a photo of her son.

"Now will you let me train our son?" The big guy pats her shoulder hoping to convince her. "If he's gonna fight, he needs all the help he can get. I sure as hell ain't gonna let some ghost hurt my son! But, Danny is much stronger than he lets on…"

"I don't care if he's strong. He's still Danny to me." Maddie would continue, until stopping when she sees a serious face on her husband. "Jack?"

"When I found out Vlad got powers because of me, it made me feel bad. I was the reason he became like that, and he's hated me his whole life while I remained blissfully ignorant." His eyes trace upstairs. "Danny must have gotten his powers because of my foolishness too, and thinking about it he knew about Vlad this whole time…" A crumpling noise can be heard coming from his gloves. "I keep thinking about how Danny could end up just like him, and it worries me so much. Even though I abandoned Vlad in space, I still regret not being there when the acne happened."

Maddie takes his hand, looking deep with understanding in his eyes. "Jack, don't blame yourself for that."

"Danny, if we're not careful, could end up a mass of hatred just like him. Seeing him use his powers for selfish gain, he could have easily done exactly that… I want to train him, and help keep him on this path of justice."

Her ensuing smile radiates warmth, before she leans in kissing him. "Those were amazing words you displayed Jack. I didn't think you were so observant."

"I've just been thinking too much." Evidently it's true, as the fumes from his head can attest to his words.

"Jack, I know there will be people going after Danny, but I can't help but worry. It's hard for me to see him as anything else. This will take time."

…

A new day begins. In his bed room, Tucker rises up with a yawn as the sun enters his face. "Man, this is gonna be a great spring break!" He takes out his PDA and through it commands his monitor to turn on.

"Knock knock!" The techno geek jumps up in shock when he hears a female's voice. Falling face forward on the floor, his red boxers become visible from the sliding covers. "Ew! I so wish I hadn't seen that!"

Mr. Foley gets up quickly and covers himself. Out by his window, Valerie Gray floats on her mechanical hunter board, dressed in her crimson ghost suit. She steps inside dismounting her board. "Valerie?!"

"We need to talk."

"Oh, uh… is now a good tim-" She lightly slaps his mouth. "Whoa."

"When I said we need to talk, that means I need answers." Valerie removes her mask, looking anywhere but the covers over his boxers. "I need to ask you questions, about Danny."

* * *

Kei: That ends this. Next chapter...huh. What IS the next chapter?

Julia: The Ghost King takes action.


	7. The Seventh Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Kei: You ready?

Julia: Begin.

Kei: Hey!

* * *

 ** _The Seventh Darkness: The Return of the King_**

* * *

"Have fun out there Danny!" Desiree happily waves to her secret beloved as he heads to the mall, who walks out in his human form over flying in his alter ego's form.

"Danny!" He spots his friends coming up to greet. Sam glances back at the waving adult, tongue stretched to emphasize her feelings, before walking with Danny to the mall. "So, school is about to start up. And luckily, no sign of those A-listers. Guess they kept their mouths shut for the time being."

"Or, they forgot. Hopefully."

"You really think they would forget?" The goth girl lowers her eyebrows at her crush's response. "Considering Dash's boy crush and Paulina's creepy shrine in her locker they're not going to let it go."

"How do you know she has a shrine?"

"I see it every time I walk by her open locker."

"Did you see anything else?" asks Tucker with innocent curiosity(yeah right).

"Well, we haven't seen hair or hide of Dash or Paulina. Hopefully the less they see of Danny Phantom, the better."

"Hair or hide? Didja really need to say that?"

"It's a proper term for describing how little we've seen of them, Tuck!"

"Yeah, if you're a cartoon character," adds Sam.

Once they reach the mall they start shopping for stuff. While Sam is at Hot Topic, because they still exist somewhere, Tucker and Danny sit just outside the tech shop like mall rats. The ghost kid eats a cheese pretzel before his technologically capable friend pokes him.

"What?" he asks, still eating.

"Check this!" He takes out his already out PDA and shows him a video conference. It shows the Guys in White K and J.

" _With the rampant attacks of ghosts on our kind, the government's sanctioned ghost exterminators is ready to take this problem to the next step. These specters invade our world to cause havoc because they believe they can do whatever they want. Because they are dead they think they've avoided all consequences. For this cause, we shall pour our resources to create a task force to police these undead scum. Introducing the next stage in ghost hunting, the Ghost Sheriffs._ "

Footsteps clanking along the ground follow out onto the podium, showing the owner. He is a man dressed head to toe in a suit of crimson armor, a familiar crimson armor. Pieces of green can be seen in the armor. " _This is the end. Finally, ghosts will have a reason to fear us! No longer will we be forced to rely on the likes of the dead to save the living!_ "

"Well thank you…" mutters Danny as Tucker pulls the PDA away. "So I guess these idiots think their newest weapon will stop the likes of Undergrowth and the Ghost King?"

"If they don't then they better shut down for good." As the two buddies speak, an icy cold wind blows from the depths of Danny's stomach. "Whoa. Did they turn up the ac in here?"

"No," the ghost kid turns his ice blue eyes over to look around for the cause of his senses, "but things are about to heat up."

At that same Hot Topic store, people run in fear shouting at the explosion of music that destroys the scenery. Sam Manson is blasted into a wall from this same music, courtesy of a ghost teen pop star with shallow, emo make up. Ember McLain stands with her guitar active, later that very second thrown to the side.

"It's good that you're finally alone. I'll take your body and use you against that dipstick!" She turns invisible and enters into Sam, but as she does the unfortunate ghost teen gets flung outward into a stack of tags and necklaces. "Okay, that happened!"

Sam then smirks, exposing the green earring set she sports. "I learned my lesson; never hang around a boy with ghostly enemies without a little protection."

"You little…" The undead musician makes a cry when she is suddenly blown backward, knocked through the wall of the building.

Danny and Tucker come into the store, the former's hand smoking green fumes. "Sam, are you okay?"

"Good timing, thanks." Ember rises up from her injury as Sam speaks to her friend.

"Nice try Gem, but your show's canceled?"

"Did you just call me… oh, you are so dead!" Ember slams a note on her guitar, causing a blast of energy in the shape of a magenta fist to fly at him. Unprepared as always Danny gets hit, and the pop star flies in after him.

Raising her ax, she swings to decapitate him. His head, however, comes undone by itself to avoid the strike. He then shoots a beam of ice from his eyes, freezing her guitar solid along with her hands. "Hey!"

She still raises it to slam his face in. He kicks up with both feet catapulting her into the mall fountain. Ember rises up from her humiliation, teeth jittery, eyes narrowed and on fire and makeup ruined. As the black on her face slithers down her cheeks, Danny floats over on a sole tail. Tucker and Sam follow after, the former recording everything.

"You think you got the upper hand? Don't count on it! This show ain't over yet!"

Danny raises his hand prepared to freeze her, before stopping. His green eyes open up more as thoughts hit him.

Flashback...

 _"Tucker, don't you start too! Everyone deserves a second chance. Besides, isn't it better for me to make friends with some of my enemies instead of constantly beating them up?"_

 _"No buts! If Desiree wants to be my friend she can be! There's nothing wrong with that!"_

End Flashback...

Remembering this, the human phantom lowers his hand. "Ember, don't you think it's time we put an end to this?"

"Yeah!" She rises from the water, hair lit aflame. "It's time we finish this like my tour!"

"No, I mean this. Us having to fight all the time. Doesn't this get tiring: you show up to take over the world, I stop you, you get shoved back into the Ghost Zone, and then the cycle repeats? Do you plan on doing this for the rest of your afterlife?"

Danny's friends open their eyes looking at him. Surprisingly this isn't the type of behavior they were expecting from him. It almost sounds like a more grown-up person has stepped out of him. Even Ember, who wants to kill him, has this look on her face that speaks of shock.

"What? What kind of trick is this?" she questions, going on guard quickly with her frozen guitar.

"I'm just saying, don't you think it's kind of pointless to keep doing this? You're a ghost, but you can do a lot more than attack people; make and sell music or something. Isn't that what you did when you were alive?"

She loosens her frozen grip, the vein in her eyes now cooling off. "You… you really think it's that easy?"

A beam of green energy shoots out, blasting Ember and knocking her out of the fountain. Ice flies every which way like soft splinters. The four present take a look over and spot who fired that shot; he's the metal warrior from the news. The crimson armored sheriff twirls his magnum as his green visors shine.

"G-Magnum, set." Ecto energy charges at the point of the barrel, a scope lens forming on the ghost girl from his perspective. "Crime Buster!"

Ember flies away to avoid the shot, but when it fires the energy bullet gives chase locked onto the scope. Upon getting hit, she screams in pain when it passes through her back. She falls back down dropping her guitar, the color emerald bleeding from her wound.

"Whoa…" The goth drops her jaw as she bears witness to the effectiveness of someone dressed like a Power Ranger reject(according to her).

Tucker quietly puts away his PDA.

As the metal hero prepares one last shot, Ember cowers away in fear. "No… wait! GAAAH!" At that moment, the Fenton Thermos activates sucking her away. The sheriff turns over to spot Danny holding the thermos, putting it away with a sigh of relief.

That is, until, the gun cocks at him. "What did you do that for?"

"You already injured her," he says calmly, before strapping it on his back. "There's no need to finish her off."

The metal hero sheathes his gun. "You've done allot to protect the world from the likes of these criminals, so I'll let your existence fly. Do not step out of line, however; you're still at the top of the Guys in Whites' list."

"Who are you?"

"You do not need to know who I am. I am the red shine that walks along the gray – Ghost Sheriff Vector." He makes a pose with the introduction, before walking away.

Danny glances at his thermos, before sighing. "I better get Ember back to the Ghost Zone."

"Why did you save her from that?" Sam questions.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm not gonna just let people die, even if they are ghosts."

"Danny, don't be naive. People like Ember can't change." He ignores this familiar sentence to fly away towards Fenton Works. He enters in and quickly sends Ember back to the Ghost Zone.

…

"You sure?" The teen ghost pop star sits on a tree branch looking down at her hands. She is with Skulker and a long list of Danny's enemies. They consist of himself, Penelope Spectra, Technus, the Lunch Lady, Johnny 13, and Prince Aragon. "So, those humans are still trying to erase us."

"Those bullets…" She touches the place where she was shot. "I could feel my body draining. I'd have passed over if that dipstick didn't save me."

Technus narrows his eyebrows thinking. "This could be worthwhile. Let's attack the real world and steal these armors for ourselves!"

"How?" Penelope questions. "If I'm right this armor could be using the remains of that space rock that rejects ghosts."

"We'll peel it off their corpses then. Technus here has the power to control all technology."

"And how!"

"All you need now is an entrance." Aragon crosses his arms as he contemplates a plan. "The portals that led us to the real world are inaccessible."

"Allow me to provide assistance." A new voice picks up their attention. Many turn to spot Reina Dark descending from above. "We're all heading out, on my commands."

"Hold your tongue woman!" barks the dragon prince. "I am of noble birth as well, and I refuse to work underneath the likes of you. Your father isn't around to give demands after all."

"Oh is he not?" All but Reina freeze in shock when they hear that familiar, commanding voice. They look up to see the owner alongside two other powerful entities.

Tomorrow…

Spring break has finally ended. Danny and his friends are finally back at school. As they make their way inside the building, the trio and Jazz note the A-Listers coming closer.

"Uh oh." The half-ghost flinches when he sees a serious look on their faces.

"Danny, hide!" says Sam giving him cover.

"Too late!" This is Tucker.

Dash comes up first, telling him, "Classroom, now." He points to an empty classroom, grabbing Danny and leading him in. The others follow knowing this is serious.

Once away from the public eye, Dash stands over Danny with a menacing air. He comes up and bends by his back. "I'm sorry Fenton."

"…okay, huh?"

"What?!" shout Tucker, Sam, and Jazz all at once.

"It took me a while to come to terms with it, but it all makes sense," begins Dash. "You were the one saving everyone's lives this whole time, and despite everything I did and said to you, you still went out of your way to rescue the likes of me."

"Wait, you're okay with this?" Danny asks, slightly perplexed. "You still don't hate me?"

"How could I?" Dash raises his head, smiling now. "You've always been my hero."

"You saved my life as well allot too." Paulina comes up to Danny. She wraps her arms around him and thrusts her tongue with a lip lock. It is a short-lived pleasure that leaves Danny bleeding from the nose. To say Sam was angry is an understatement. "Paulina Fenton has a nice ring to it now that I think about it."

"Never in my life have I been more relieved, disgusted and angry in a single moment," speaks the goth girl as she glares directly for Danny.

"Lucky." She gives a glare at Tuck for his statement.

"Look, about me being-" Paulina places a finger to her lips.

"It's okay. We won't tell, especially with things the way they are. Those men in black are trying to get rid of you aren't they?"

"Uh, Guys in White, but yeah. And thanks for-" Before he could finish, his breath releases a cold wisp. "No biggie. Please be the Box Ghost."

Outside, a raging storm of wind blows in the air. Jazz takes a lookout with Star, saying, "You might wanna rethink that."

He looks through that same window and spots Reina up in the air. Many run in fear seeing her. "Uh oh, it's her." He thrusts his arms up, shouts, "I'm going ghost," and transforms into Danny Phantom. He passes through the wall as his A-List fans cheer for him.

"Let's go!" Sam grabs Tucker and Jazz taking them outside.

Outside, Danny flies out turning visible. "Reina!"

"Oh good. You're here."

Reina descends from above slowly, her eyes running along every edge of his body hungrily. Danny stands ready to do battle against her. Her crimson mane blows in the sudden wind before she slices the air above her. Reality rips apart by the seams her Melibur glides across, opening up to the eerie emerald that now pollutes the light.

"Humans of the Real World, bear witness once more to he who rules the Ghost Zone!" A figure descends from above, his presence of intimidation commanding all like a meteor shower destroying all in its path. "Bow down before the might of my father, Pariah Dark the King of Ghosts!"

To his horror, Danny and the others surrounding him cringe when one of the biggest threats to reach them has arrived; descending from the portal is Pariah Dark, and an army of ghosts aligned beside him. They are Technus, Skulker, the Lunch Lady, Prince Aragon, Johnny 13, the Fright Knight, Vortex, and Undergrowth.

"Welcome to the party ghost child," speaks the knight as he draws his Soul Shredder. "You have been summoned to the presence of his majesty."

"He promised to leave our lands alone if we can take you out," Skulker speaks as he summons a gun. "Granted, I have more important things to worry about."

"That's alright. We'll summon those ghost sheriffs with our very presence!" shouts Technus at the top of his lungs. "And then I shall have the most powerful machine body in the world!" There's a pause. "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes, you did," speaks Aragon before he turns into a dragon.

"How would you like your beating? Chicken or beef?" Lunch Lady holds up a rubber chicken and meat on a stick. She then bellows, "Either way, you're going down!"

In the background, a cloaked man watches wearing a top hat covered in cogs. He peers his head out, revealing himself to be Masters. Back to action, Pariah Dark steps forward, approaching Danny while towering over him. The teen takes a step back, left arm shaking. "Hello, Phantom."

"What do you want?"

His large finger points down onto him. "You."

"What?" The king draws his mace and swings downward.

* * *

Yusei: This chapter is over.

Dante: Good.

Cielo: The next chapter details Danny Phantom vs Pariah Dark. That's all you're getting.


	8. The Eighth Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

* * *

 ** _The Eighth Darkness: The King vs the Pawn_**

* * *

Desiree enters her new home of Fenton Works. With a look inside she says aloud, "Is anyone home," to no avail. "Danny's at school, so where are his parents?" An idea comes to mind when the scent of metal burning reaches her noise; with that, she heads to the basement, where she spots Maddie and Jack working.

"Man, this seems harder every time we work on it," says Jack as he finishes his welding. He and Maddie remove their protective goggles, and look at what has happened.

The orange haired mother exposes her face with a sigh. "I still think we should let this stay off, but from what Danny said he gained his powers from this portal. If we turn it on while inside it we'll be able to gain the same powers as him…"

"That sounds like something I would do."

"I never said we were doing it. We're gonna test it, because if it worked on Danny it can work on us. One of us can gain the same powers as Danny and fight against whatever is coming for him instead," she tells him, placing the welder down to place a hand on the portal. "I don't want Danny to go through anymore suffer alone."

"…I understand…" Jack looks over at the on/off button they put on the outside of the portal. "But which of us will it be?"

Desiree watches with curiosity, an idea coming to her. If she can go in there she can gain ghost powers just like Danny. But there's a chance she might end up just like genie she used to be, and be forced to make wishes. Thinking it over, she'll put it off; there's more than enough tech to fight with.

The former ghost genie looks up to Maddie when she hears a ringing from her jumpsuit. She reveals an attachment on her arm and checks it. "Danny transformed. What for?"

Back to Action…

"Whoa!" Danny flies away dodging the mace, dust clouds billowing from the impact. The ghost king glares down upon the teenager, bringing a chill to his ecto bones. "What, are you mad that I put you in that box?"

"A little, but that's not the point of my business here." He watches as the supernatural royal turns his eye over to his knight.

"Back when you fought the king and he accepted your challenge, he lost. Because of so his right to rule has been threatened." Pariah Dark tightens his grasp on his mace.

"That's why we're going to settle this. If I win, you shall become subservient to myself."

"What if I win?"

"You'll be in a position to barter."

The ghost boy takes a step back, holding his arms together drawing ecto energy. "You really think I'm gonna say-"

"Danny, wait!" says Sam. "You can't face him!"

"Yeah! You needed a body suit the last time and barely won!"

"I did, when he had the Artifact of Darkness. Now he's no longer infinite in power." His eye narrows.

"How do you know that?" speaks the Fright Knight coming before him. "What do you know about the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage?"

Reina stares at her golden artifact and then back at Danny. The half ghost takes in a deep breath and summons the Doomsickle. Skulker scuffs when he spots the scythe that took him down, while the king smirks. "The Doomsickle is in your grasp…Clockwork is doing his meddling again. You must have destroyed my artifacts."

"How do you-"

"Do you accept or not? If not, I will unleash these ghosts on your town and have them lay waste to it, and you." He gestures to the entourage of specters behind him. "And you know more than I do that you cannot defeat them all."

Danny looks back at his friends, and the A-Listers. He then faces Pariah Dark with a nod. "Then, let the challenge begin!" He swings down at Danny.

Phantom passes through it and flies up to punch his jaw. The monstrous king tanks the punch, stepping back slightly. He then grabs his tail and throws him into a truck; he's too disoriented to pass through and instead bounces off it. As he's rolling on the ground, Pariah Dark steps forward and throws his mace.

Danny picks himself up and glares dark blue, using ice vision to freeze it in place. His outfit stains white in places that are gray, and the mace begins to disappear into smoke fumes. Pariah then disappears.

The half ghost looks around expecting him to attack from behind. His ghost sense activates, and he sees the ghost king just quick enough to get kneed in the face. The ghost hero gets flung in the air like a shuriken, embedded into a wall. The king then fires a red beam from his eye, blasting Danny so hard he screams.

"Is this all you have boy? I could destroy you without blinking an eye!" He ceases his eye ray, allowing his opponent to stand. The king with his jade mane watches as a strong wind suddenly blows, causing him to narrow whatever depth perception he has left. What he sees is something he never thought to see, a black aura emitting from him. "What sorcery is this? Is this part of Clockwork's grooming?"

Danny raises his arms and yells as he thrusts them down, releasing a ghostly wail. The shockwaves hit Pariah with blasts of green that begin turning black. That's when it actually starts to hurt. "What is this power?!" He screams as it sends him flying, turning a nearby building into a demolition zone.

As Danny Phantom storms forth, his friends watch with questions in their minds. Except Sam; she's just proud to see him kicking ass. "Alright Danny! Send him to the moon!"

"Doesn't he always get tired when he does that?" Tucker asks.

Danny stops just before the smoke. "Hey, Pariah! I hope you're not finished, because I'm just warming up. Ironic right?"

"Didn't you say last time to skip the banter?" Pariah rises up from behind Danny and claps, releasing a stronger red ghost ray. He grins, before realizing he's holding him back with a black ghost shield. He lets up, staring down Danny. "So that's why you were chosen. He must want to put an end to this battle as peacefully as possible."

"What are you talking about?"

"Clockwork is vastly intelligent, even more so than myself. If he made a plan he wouldn't let anyone figure it out unless he wanted them to, and since you're so unaware of your own strength's origins you must be a pawn." Danny's temper flares as he glares. "Yes, let us continue. You still need a reminder of my power."

"Maybe you need a reminder of how powerless you are without those trinkets making you invincible." The Doomsickle forms, and he swings at Pariah with it. He draws his jagged sword, holding back against the crescent blade.

"I am the King of Ghosts for a reason!" He exhorts all of his powers and repels Danny, sending him backwards. He throws the scythe, hooking it around his arm.

Danny then pulls himself forward and swings along the street, passing through anything he may hit. Pariah grabs the chain and pulls him forward, before shooting from his eye. His face tears away to avoid the beam as he makes his scythe pass through his body. The teenager flies high up into the sky.

He makes it above the buildings when he sees that the ghost king has increased in size. Like a monster in Power Rangers, he stands around the same length as a skyscraper. He draws his jagged blade and swings at Danny, releasing a red shockwave of ecto energy that blows him away. The powerful attack gets frozen in place by the young boy's white ice power, before he summons blades made of ice.

The ice weapons fire down slashing into the king. Danny then snaps his fingers, causing the blades to circle around Pariah slashing at his face. He then comes down with his scythe, slicing off his eyepatch in the process.

His green blood splashes onto the ground, as it as he holds where he was cut. Taking a good look at his weapon, Danny floats before the ghost king. His eyes widen when he sees his missing eye, is actually still present. Instead of green it's red with black scars. "You've exposed a hidden pain in me."

"Uh oh." Those were his last words before an eye beam blasts him into the ground.

"I'll slam you back and forth until there's nothing left of you!" He raises his sword and slams it down on Danny, who turns intangible. His attack only destroys the road he was on. The lucky ghost boy rises up from the ground, just in time to see the king vanish.

He mentally curses as he looks around. With too many ghosts already around his ghost sense can't warn him. "Danny, behind you!" Thanks to Sam's warning he turns around just in time to block using his scythe's chain shaft. The force of his arm pushes him backwards into a building.

"You've indeed gotten stronger, but how exactly do you expect to defeat him when he revives? It took me the power of infinity to seal him away; you on the other hand are just a naive little boy." Pariah pushes further, ready to finish him. "Isn't this the part where you revert to a human?!"

"Nope." He releases a white wave, intending to freeze his sword. But as ice spreads along the ghost metal, it begins to disappear in white fumes. This effect becomes apparent as he looks at the sword, his power doing more than it should.

Pariah backs away before the rest of the blade and he himself are exterminated. Both of his hands charge with red ecto energy, before he punches Danny hard through the wall. Unlike usually, he takes a knee feeling all that pain catch up to him.

"So it looks like you're finally at your limit." Danny summons his scythe and thrusts it forward, extending the chain towards Pariah. He grabs it and raises the weapon up. "I know how this works because of how it was used in the past, and you can't use that power without erasing the weapon as well."

Danny quickly uses ghost stinger to shock him, to no avail. "It tickles. How about mine?" He fires back his own, shocking Danny so hard he screams. The king then swings him into the ground behind him. The ghost kid raises his head and glances over at his friends, his vision blurring a bit. Exhausted, he drops his head.

The Ghost King reaches down and grabs Danny's head, lifting him just in front of his face. "Guess this is the end. You did well to push me this far boy." He raises him high to show all his victory, until the boy's fingers move. He clenches his fist and grabs the king's hand, ice frosting over his fingers.

This loosens his grip just enough for the boy to break free, raising his head slightly. This is just enough to show his black eyes. He gets back up and stares Pariah Dark in the eyes. "You don't give up to do?"

Without a word, he throws a punch that sticks directly into his stomach. "GUWA-" A follow up uppercut sends him flying upwards, but he quickly catches himself in midair. "You little…"

Danny wipes away the green on his hands, and continues wailing on Pariah punching and kicking him with a straight, darkened face. He stops to grab his hair flipping him to the ground. Before he could speak further, the berserk boy kicks him so hard he goes flying until he stands. "Where is this power coming from?!"

Danny pushes his hand out, revealing his ice wave. Instead of hitting him, it surrounds the king turning into green blades. "Green?" They shoot down impaling into King Dark, hitting him so hard he cries out in pain. He drops down to a knee, bleeding from every wound inflicted. "This is the same power as the Doomsickle… how is this possible?!"

Danny fires a black beam from his hand, blasting Pariah so hard parts of his clothing incinerate. The beam continues hitting a building behind him, demolishing it and everything inside as well. Despite this he presses forward while he draws the Doomsickle, and at a speed no one believed he had stabs him in between his shoulder and next. "Guh…"

Reina's eyes shine seeing what he did. "He… he actually did it…"

The boy then removes his scythe, as ectoplasm shoots out splattering on his face. With him defeated, Danny charges his foot with power and kicks him to the ground; black sparks riddle his entire body. He then raises his weapon aiming to pierce into his throat once more.

"That's enough." The Melibur raises, blocking the Doomsickle. The princess of the Ghost Zone looks into his darkened eyes, his friends calling out in the background. "So that's what you meant, father. Clockwork really is a scary man, and you're even scarier for following through."

She pushes his weapon back and slashes him diagonally, releasing an attack so strong he flies backwards out of his ghost form. She then sheathes her weapon into her arm, and grabs her father. Checking him, she sees he's fallen unconscious. "You lost after all father."

"This… this is complete and utter bullshit," speaks Technus, eyes bulging out at the result.

"He actually toppled the Ghost King!" This comes from Undergrowth.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen," adds Aragon, his tone ecstatic.

"Danny Phantom…" The Fright Knight approaches the young half ghost as he comes to.

Danny holds his head in pain, his brain rattled by whatever hit him. He honestly can't remember what happened. 'I was fighting Pariah, and…I don't remember after sometime after. What happened?'

"Danny!" His friends and the A-Listers come up to him as he recovers physically and mentally.

"I'm okay… but what happened?" He turns to the faces of his friends, noticing the unease on some of their faces.

Reina turns to the other ghosts. "There you have it. My father has lost the challenge. You are all to retreat into purgatory now."

"Bite me princess!" shouts Aragon, turning into the black dragon. "Your daddy isn't at full strength anymore. This is the perfect opportunity to get rid of him and you!"

"You fool. Fright Knight, handle him." She turns to the black knight, who draws her sword aimed at her. "What are you doing?"

"You can drop the act. We know why you didn't help him. You wanted your father to lose." She narrows her eyes at him. "Now that he's weakened we can all take him out like you planned."

"I want him imprisoned, not murdered, so watch yourself." She draws the Melibur and swings, releasing a hole torn in space. It sucks in the Fright Knight. The princess then turns her eyes over to Danny. "Well done Phantom; you performed beyond expectations. We shall return."

She enters inside with her beaten daddy. As it closes up behind them, Danny turns to face the other ghost left behind; he was hoping they would go with her.

"I'll come for you another time ghost child," Skulker speaks, before grabbing Technus and flying away. The undead genius clamors on the wasted opportunity.

"I have much to plan before my move, meat bags." Undergrowth leaves this warning before entering the earth.

"Without those blasters settling things with you will be (deep breath) easier!" Vortex enters the skies.

"We'll meat again!" The Lunch Lady leaves, while the prince remains.

Looking at themselves and the dragon, he looks down at Danny and his friends. "I could go after the Ghost King, but opportunities like this don't come around very often." He gets down on all fours. "I still owe you for assisting my sister in dethroning me!"

Sam, Jazz and Tucker stand in front of Danny protecting him. "You leave Danny alone!" Dash, Paulina and Star join them.

"Oh right. You were the main instigation behind the coup, little girl." Danny moves past his allies to defend them, including the current target Sam. The black dragon rears his claws, the half ghost afraid he may be too drained to handle him. "The revenge I'll have on you will be sweeter than the blood I'll be picking from my teeth!"

Danny prepares to transform, but that's when an ecto gun blasts his hand aside. Everyone checks to the right and see the Fenton Family RV, with Maddie and Jack jumping out making a superhero landing. Well, Jack slips actually.

"Get away from him you prick!" shouts mama bear Maddie as she aims her giant cannon at his face.

The dragon snarls before turning invisible. "Next time child."

Elsewhere…

Deep in the Ghost Zone, the Fright Knight appears from the tear in reality. Reina Dark follows after carrying her father Pariah. The princess and the knight square off. "Why must you get in my way? I have a right to see him slain."

"Killing my father won't free you from servitude, Samhain. You still have the next queen, me, to follow." She aims her sword at him.

"Not unless I slay you as well." Before they could make their moves, two ecto beams magenta in color blast them away. This makes her lose grip on Pariah, who remains floating through space.

Appearing into reality is a sight none of them expected to see, the half ghost who almost destroyed the planet, Vlad Plasmius. He floats with both hands fuming from the beams he fired. He then removes the top hat he held. "Thanks for letting me follow you."

"You! I thought you were left in space!"

"He was Fright Knight, he was." Vlad returns the hat to his head, as his body gains black veins coming from the hat above. Those veins shoot out as tentacles towards the king, who screams out in pain as something pumps from him into Vlad. He then releases a wave that repels Reina and the Fright Knight. " **Sruo si rewop siht, won dna!** "

* * *

Kenshin: What was that?

Yusei: Wait til later.


	9. The Ninth Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Kei: Welcome to another installment of Blackness Phantom. Hopefully, you weren't waiting too long for such a short chapter.

* * *

 ** _The Ninth Darkness: The Follow Up to the Challenge_**

* * *

"Mom, I'm okay!" Danny says as he breaks free of his mother's grasp. He and his friends are currently inside of Fenton Works' living room with his parents and Jazz; they had to show up here after the news broadcast the battle with the ghost king.

"Danny, how can you outright fight him?" Maddie asks. The serious tone in her voice is overridden by her worry. "He teleported the entire town the last time he was here, and you fought him to a standstill."

"Stand still? He practically almost re-killed him!" says Sam this time.

"Yeah," begins Tucker, "but you kinda went a bit berserk back there."

"Berserk?"

Sam and Jazz hmm in unison thinking about that fight. A thought then comes to the older sister: "Now that you mention, Danny usually makes a lot of stupid jokes when he fights. But he got super quiet later on…"

Being more silent, Danny remembers something back when he fought. 'When I was fighting, I felt this incredible power awaken within me. But, the more I drew on it, the more I kept fighting…' Words from the fight return to his mind.

" _Clockwork is vastly intelligent, even more so than myself. If he_ _made_ _a plan he wouldn't let anyone figure it out unless he wanted them to, and since you're so unaware of your power you're nothing more than a pawn._ "

'What didn't he tell me?'

"But this is so awesome!" shouts the techno-geek with awe towards the fact at hand. "Danny was able to defeat Pariah Dark! Everyone else will be a piece of cake afterward!" He then flinches when Maddie makes a grunting noise. "You know if he gets the okay."

"We'll see." As she speaks, the half-ghost in question snaps his fingers trying to amass his ecto abilities. He gets a few sparks, but nothing amounts from it. "Danny?"

"Nothing. I think I better get some rest," he says before getting up.

As he heads up the steps, his tight jumpsuit wearing mother sighs with a heavy heart. Jack pats his wife's shoulder. "It's okay."

The tired half ghost's feet drag along the steps as he ascends to the top floor, disappearing from everyone's sight as he nears his bedroom. As one foot goes in front of the other, his baggy eyes take in Desiree's beautiful form awaiting him at the top. Looking into her eyes his heart clenches at the recognition of worry for him. "Desiree…"

She speaks no words, but once he reaches the chocolate goddess she reaches out to hug him. His head plants into her chest close to her heart, the rhythmic beats of her heart touching deep into his own. "Go get some rest. You deserve it."

"Thank you," he says, returning a hug of his own. She looks down at him, her lips curling into a smile. Those eyes follow his weary form as it disappears behind the door.

Inside his room he plops onto his bed, his left hand hitting the floor hard. "My god I'm tired." He raises that same hand, summoning the ring that would pass over him. But when he does, it short circuits and disappears. "I can't go ghost… maybe if I get some rest…"

He stretches himself up to reach his lights, but once he's up he falls back on his bed.

Later that night as everyone goes back home, a lone figure walks through the halls of Fenton Works. This person reaches the steps and tiptoes down into the basement, before reaching the computer system. After pressing a few keys the screen shows in red letters 'soundproof on,' allowing our mysterious person to walk towards the Ghost Portal.

A hand stretches out towards the hazmat suit just next to the portal before throwing them on. This person then reaches for the panel just right to the gateway and presses some buttons. The portal's innards begin sparking, and our intruder rushes into it. A rush of jade light washes over this mysterious person, accompanied by a scream.

The rest is silence.

Elsewhere…

Zalam sits in a dark alley within Amity Park. Reading a book, despite the fact that there's no light, he waits patiently. "Hmm… These are nice sites."

He pauses when he hears something move and tosses the book aside. He looks to the darkest area of the alley, seeing red lines in the form of cracks. "So, are we all here?"

"We are now." From behind the dark swordsman, a familiar, female voice appears. He turns around to see a woman with dark chocolate skin walking up. She has hair as blue and dark as night and wears a teacher's uniform. The blouse is opened just enough to not burst from her voluptuous figure, and her golden eyes focus on Zalam.

"Oh, Mahara. Guess you picked out a nice body."

"Shut up Zalam." She stares upon him with a malice strong enough to melt steel.

"She's so unlike the rest of you gods, who still haven't found bodies." A skeletal hand reaches up and grabs the god of darkness by his arm.

" **Flesruoy rof kaeps! Dlrow laer eht gniretne su rof selur eht wonk uoy; ytiniffa thgir eht htiw eno tuohtiw ton dna, ydob a ssessop ew sselnu mrof niatniam t'nac ew. Mih dna uoy ekil ton er'we.** "

"Alright, get off me Huo!" Zalam pushes the arm away, noticing the burns on his own. "We'll keep distracting them so no one realizes what we're up to. But for the time being, find bodies."

Another voice speaks this time. " **Su liaf ton od, hsiw uoy sa. Regnol yna mih liaf t'nac ew.** " The red cracks disappear.

Mahara huffs before stepping away, flipping her hair aside with the right hand. "I'll go find Bloody. You stay out of trouble; you're the only one who knows where the Soul Pen is."

Morning…

"What happened?!" Jack stands before the ghost portal, seeing that it's been turned on. "The Ghost Portal has been activated!"

"Someone turned it on…" says Maddie as she surmises the situation. "Someone must have known about the portal and used it to gain ghost powers like Danny. Or a ghost turned it on to be able to pass through."

"Now we'll have to shut it off and turn it back on again to get ghost powers." Jack reaches for the controls to turn it off, before turning to his wife. "We'll try it tomorrow to get a good charge."

"Jack…" By the steps, Jazz stands watching her parents converse. Her mother continues saying, "Maybe we should wake Danny up first and let him know."

With a nod, the mature older sister heads up the steps in a hurry. She reaches her little bro's room, and after a gentle knock gets no answer. "Danny?" She reaches for the knob to turn, slipping. "Freaking doorknob." She grabs it again and turns, revealing her brother left in that same position.

"Danny? Wake up!" She goes to his side and pats him on the shoulder, only to receive no response. He remains in that position unconscious while she tries to awaken him. She even pushes him over the bed, and he's asleep. "Could that fight have tired him out that much?"

Later…

In her father's castle within the Ghost Zone, Reina Dark stands before the Observants. Numbered in a throng of five, the eye ghosts glare at the princess of the Ghost Zone, who steps down her staircase with the Fright Knight by her side.

"Bear witness you foolish observers; with my father defeated in battle, he has lost his right to rule. His next of kin, myself, shall take the reigns and become the undisputed Queen of Ghosts."

She draws the Melibur and aims them at her crowd. "No longer shall any of you call me princess; that shall be my first decree."

"I deny it," speaks the first Observant.

"I as well."

"Eye is what you're going to lose if you use that pun again," she says in a groan.

"We cannot accept this," says a third. "You cannot just claim the title of the king of this realm even IF you're Pariah Dark's daughter. There are customs to achieving that title, and when his right to rule was threatened that expanded to his entire family."

"In other words, you're still a princess." The fourth one says this, and almost immediately a golden blade pierces through him.

"Is that so…then are you expecting me to expose my belly and let that boy take command?" Her eyes turn a dark olive shade.

"It's not that simple either." The first one says, the only one unaffected by the impalement of one of his own. "He may be a ghost, but he's also alive. The living can't rule over the dead! In a time like this, control reverts back to us."

She pulls her blade away, and her victim falls to a knee. The female ghost then sheathes her sword and walks away. "How would I regain my right?"

"The same way your father attempted to."

With a groan she makes a turn, her large hair flipping to the left as she ascends the steps. The Fright Knight extends his hand, his blazing hair blowing in the wind as he commands. "Leave now. She will handle your presence another time."

Taking that into account, the Observants make their exit disappearing. With them gone, the knight flies high up to follow his new ruler. The Fright Knight finds her in the inner chambers of the castle staring out a glassless window. "Fright Knight, you probably expect me to fire you for your insubordination."

"My what?"

"I'm well aware of your deal with Plasmius. You would work with him to set yourself free from working for my father."

"Why would you believe such a frivolous-"

"STOP LYING!" Reina turns around to face him, shocking the black knight when he witnesses tears. "The only way he could have been there to absorb my father is if someone knew we were there, and that he was weakened."

 _As Vlad Plasmius' hat absorbs the power of her father, Reina watches in horror as her old man disappears into the hat. The ghost vampire places it back atop his head and laughs as he brims with red energy. "Plasmius!"_

" _Our power is overflowing!" he says loudly, as his form begins to change._

 _Reina flies in drawing her blade, slashing at him. It makes contact with twin blades extending from his left fist, and a flood of information enters her mind. "We will leave you alive for the most part. Right now we're after him, for what he did to me before." Vlad then disappears._

"The Melibur has power over memories, and that one slash told me more than I needed to know. They're acting sooner than I thought, and we've lost the man who sealed them away before. The last thing I need is a soldier who can only focus on his freedom!" She slashes at him, an attack blocked by his Soul Shredder. "I would destroy you if not for your strength. I need it for later."

"My lady-" She pushes his sword away with her own before slashing diagonally upward. This attack cuts into his armor, causing him to stumble backwards a bit. She then aims her free hand's index and middle finger, releasing a blast of crimson ecto energy. The color of blood covers him entirely, sending him plummeting through a wall.

Reina slowly walks towards the new exist, flexing the bones in her hand. There she sees the Fright Knight floating in pain, clutching the damage on his armor. She raises her sword and cuts open a hole through space. "Head to the real world. Gather an army of those five we talked about. I'll find Dunames in case. And we'll begin the test tomorrow. Once we're ready, we'll hunt him down."

"But what about the boy?"

"That battle taught me three things," she begins, sheathing away her sword. "First, our enemies cannot be beaten with our current strength. Second, Clockwork has worked on a plan beyond my expectations using that boy. Third, Danny Phantom has more than blood and ectoplasm in his system, and he can't control the power it's given him yet."

"What?"

"Let's greet him when he wakes up."

Elsewhere…

In a store for hunting activities, Skulker sits calmly in a chair among hiking gear, antlers, and crossbows while tinkering. He groans as sparks release from his armored self. "Gotta keep working. Or else I'll never be able to match that child."

"Then maybe I can provide some assistance." The dead hunter raises his head and looks at Technus floating just overhead. "I want to get rid of that brat as well, and I was already no match for him before."

"So you want a team up?"

The scientist wags his finger, his face more serious. "I prefer a collaboration. In the end, neither of us can defeat him on our own, and he's just gonna get in my way! What do you say?"

"I have a better option." The two turn to see a tear in the fabric of space time, where the Fright Knight appears. The very presence of the Halloween rider sets them off on a bad way.

Technus prepares his electric staff. "What do you want?"

"Another decree from your worthless owner again?"

The Fright Knight draws the Soul Shredder and points to them. Flames erupt from his weapon, increasing the temperature in the atmosphere of the room. "So I suppose you do not wish to murder that young snot?"

They lower their weapons at that. "I only work alongside those who can further my goals, and I can make it where we can benefit off each other. What do you think?"

* * *

Yusei: With this chapter over, we'll be working on the next. Chapter 10 will have us reveal more of the Ghost Sheriffs, and a familiar team of six shall make their return.

Cielo: Shall we reveal who our mysterious intruder is?

Julia: Nope. The readers'll have to figure it out themselves.


	10. The Tenth Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Kei: Welcome back to this, where we'll provide another chapter for you to like or not. You probably don't, because the review count is low.

Julia: We're not doing this to get reviews. How many times do I-

Kei: I know! We wouldn't have done the Digimon Frontier Deluxe if that were true.

Yusei: Here we'll follow up on the last chapter. You'll see for yourself after all.

Kei: In other news, we've started getting back into Danny Phantom, considering it's the fourteen year anniversary of the debut episode of this show. Including Amity Park.

Serena: ...what?!

 ** _The Tenth Darkness: Is Love in the Air?_**

* * *

Early in the morning light, Desiree sits in front of Danny's bed, staring down at the unconscious boy with worry. Seeing the boy of her affections fast asleep, without a care in the world, she reaches out to caress his cheek. "Danny…Please wake up."

The door behind her opens up and in steps Jazz. Checking up on him, she asks, "How is he?"

"Still nothing. I guess he really needed this rest," she tells her, worried about the young half-ghost.

"I have to head for school. Please, if he wakes up-" Desiree takes her hand, nodding. "Thank you."

As the older sis leaves, the ebony adult sits patiently before the sleeping teenager. Her hand reaches out and touches his cheek, brushing by a hair on his chin. "Facial hair… he's really growing up."

She leans in closer to his face, about to check his heartbeat up close. Though she backs up when his eyes open. Desiree's heart skips a beat from the shock, watching as he sits up slowly with a yawn. "Desiree? Why are you in my room?"

"You've been asleep for two days!"

"Two days?!" he shouts, eyes widened as he flips out of bed. He then takes a minute to pause, and calm down. "Wait, this is another prank. Just like Tucker-"

"No, I'm serious. You've slept for at least 36 hours." She shows him a paper calendar, that somehow came from underneath his bed, showing him today's date.

"…oh no. I was asleep for two days…" He grabs his head feeling like he's about to panic. "I'm going to have to catch up so much!"

"You'll be fine! Just get ready for school right now," she tells him, getting up to leave the room. Her head lingers in to leave one last line before exiting: "Danny, it's good to see you're okay."

Once the door closes, the half-ghost stares a hole in the wall. The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes something. "Desiree, do you…" Knowing he can't wait, he reopens the door.

"Danny?"

"Desiree, I have to ask…" He looks at her with a serious expression. Her cheeks flush red when his eyes continue to read her all over. "Do you…do you have feelings for me?"

She gives a gasp, before smiling with an unmatched pride. "I do. For the longest time I've had an emotional and physical attraction to you, and for as long as I'm been your friend I've wanted to have a relationship with you."

His reaction is to blink, before giving a tomato impression. "You…wow…" Those blue eyes look everywhere he can, unable to remain focused on hers as if staring at the sun. "I guess that explains a bit…but why me? And why didn't you tell me before?"

She sighs with regret. "You don't remember. You don't remember what you've done for me, what we've gone through, and the kisses we've shared." She reaches out touching his hand. "As much as I want to have your heart for my own, it wouldn't be fair to push my feelings onto you until you've fallen in love with me again. As long as you didn't remember, I was afraid to be rejected."

"Desiree…But why do you? I mean, I'm a teenager and you're an adult, technically."

"Again, you don't remember, but you saved my life when you didn't have to. You may be a child, but you're extremely mature for your age. Despite everything that's happened to you and everything your enemies put you through you still try to do the right thing. No matter the pressure you kept your powers to protect the people around you and to keep from becoming that monster from the future. And finally, you've never abused my powers for your own selfish gain even when we were enemies. That is why I love you, Danny Fenton. Both of you." It's almost like she sparkled after that.

He straightens himself in the chair thinking about her confession. Unlike Sam who's not making a move, Paulina who only liked the hero persona, and Valerie who ended their relationship to hunt his ghost half, she is in love with both Fenton and Phantom. She isn't afraid to announce it, and she is willing to put his own happiness first. "Desiree, I'm flattered. I…I can't reject your feelings either. But, can we be together? I'm 16, and you're probably twice my age, according to that old lady anyway."

"But in two years that won't matter, and I'm willing to wait." She beams with this statement.

"Could this really work? I mean, would my parents accept me?"

"They've already accepted me into your home. Besides, your sister likes me."

"What if we end up ruining the friendship we already have? I mean, I barely speak with Valerie anymore because of the breakup, and we got along well ever since the Ghost King incident."

"Life cannot be measured in what ifs. I don't need a kingdom anymore; just a living, a home, and a good man to share it with. You could be the one I've been looking to spend the rest of my life with." Danny inhales in a shudder. He can't argue with that. The more they talk about it, the more he leans to being with her.

"Desiree…"

"You need time right?" She gets up from her seat passing by him, leaving an imprint of her lips on his left cheek. "I'll give you as much as you need. Go to school, and let everyone know you're okay."

Watching as she leaves, Danny comes out of his tomato impression to gaze upon her. "I should give her…I should give everyone a proper answer." He'll have to worry about that later. He has to go to school.

After quickly changing his clothes, to a cleaner version of the outfit he's been wearing for days, our half dead protagonist grabs his book bag and flies to school as his ghostly persona. Hoping he isn't too late, he increases his speed thrusting a hand out.

"With my power, I should be able to reach school in about-" As he beelines for Casper High, he sees something emit from the palm of his hand. He slows his speed to a halt and examines his hand, which releases a white aura.

Looking at it he recognizes it as the power that amplifies his cryokinetic abilities. 'Whenever I froze something, it would be erased. What did this scythe do to me?' He thinks back to what Pariah said about him being a pawn.

Raising his hand he releases this power, and a tear opens up in the fabric of reality. "Well, that's something new." He sticks his hand inside and quickly pulls it out before it abruptly closes. 'What did Clockwork do to me? This feels like something out of a Japanese cartoon.'

Hearing the ringing of the nearby school bell, he says, "Oh, damn it! I can't be late on my first day back!" Danny flies for the high school, slipping inside. All the while he's unaware of the person watching him from above.

Inside, he turns invisible within the men's room before changing back to Danny Fenton. Human again, he slips out of the stall he hid in and then runs to class. "Don't be late! Don't be late!"

He manages to slide in the door just in time. After breathing a sigh of relief, his friends notice him and shout, "Danny!"

"Hey, guys! I managed to recover-" A hand pats on his shoulder stopping him.

"I think now's a good time to recover your memories of disrupting my class Mr. Fenton," says Mr. Lancer just beside him. The slightly overweight adult angrily glares before pointing to his seat. "Now if you don't mind taking a seat!"

"Yes, sir!" He quickly makes for the nearest, empty seat next to his friends. But unfortunately, that's halfway across class. He just needs to make it through the day.

Lunch…

Around lunchtime, he finally has some freedom to meet up with his friends. With a tray in hand, he heads to their table, only to be derailed by the sudden arrival of Paulina. "Eh?"

"Come here." She guides him away to the hall, making him drop his empty plate. From where she and Tucker sit, Sam gives a glare watching them leave.

Away from prying eyes, Danny and Paulina stand face to face. "Paulina, is there something wrong?"

"That depends on your response," she says, her seductive eyes leering into his blues. "I was thinking, we could maybe go out together."

"Wait…you mean a date?"

"Don't be so…what's that word? Coy?" She stops to think about it. "Danny, I know you've liked me for the longest. There's no reason for us to keep pretending, to not take what we have further."

"Paulina…" He looks down at himself. "That…" He doesn't want to say yes. He can't say yes. "I don't feel the same way as you."

"W-What?!" Obviously, she's taken back, but visibly more sad than angry. "You're rejecting me? For that goth girl?!"

His face never leaving his self, he responds as honestly as he could: "No. I'm not."

Paulina watches his mannerisms, even as he reenters the mess hall. "I need to sort some things out before I make that decision."

The ghost boy enters the lunch hall, spotting Sam standing on the wall just beside the door. He leaves her to be to get his lunch, while the rich goth angrily watches him go. "Danny…why would you even question it?"

After school, Danny, Tucker, and Sam walk back to Fenton Works. The unfortunate black teen stuck between them has to suffocate on the tension in the air directed towards the ghost boy. Even as they enter the mechanical tower that is Danny's home, he can feel something bad will happen.

In the middle of the living room, the trio comes to find Desiree fast asleep on the couch. Laying on her left facing the couch, she shifts in her sleep. Danny asks, "Desiree, you okay?"

"Tired from…work…not used…to body…don't wake me…I'll cut you…"

Stepping away from her, he faces the rest of his friends. "Maybe I should tell her about coffee…"

"She got a job?" asks Tucker. "That's surprising."

"Yeah, she must really fit in down at the lounge," Sam says as her eyes dart back and forth.

"Sam, don't imply that."

"Imply what? Are you saying that a woman can only have a job as a stripper?" She wags a finger at him.

Danny pushes her finger aside while glaring at her. "Don't you go and try to throw that sexism card!"

"Danny, stop trying to make us friends. She and I will never get along; I'm not gonna let go of the fact that she tried to kill us. I don't know how you can!"

"What is your deal with me being around girls?" The techno-geek flinches in shock when Danny finally puts it out there.

"D-Don't misconstrue! This has nothing to do with that!"

Tucker beams with a glare. Tired of it all, he says loudly, "Sam, stop it. It's getting old!" She looks over at her now. "Isn't it about time you told the truth?"

She attempts to say something, but Danny stops her. "He's right. Just say it right here and now; do you have feelings for me beyond friendship?"

Caught on the spot finally, the now rosy-cheeked goth sighs in defeat. "Yes."

The declaration of truth moves his heart a bit. As happy as it makes him, some things need to be clear. "How long have you felt that way: since Valerie? Since we were kids?" A thought reaches him. "Since I became Danny Phantom?"

"What difference does it make?" she suddenly shouts.

"You've had these feelings for me and you didn't tell me? Why haven't-"

"How could I?" She shouts aloud. "You're always asking out girls you barely know just because they're pretty! It feels as bad as when you spied on me and Elliot."

"I didn't spy on you because I was jealous and had feelings for you; I actually thought-"

"And another thing-" A kitchen knife flies by their faces, impaling through the front door like an arrow.

All three of them look over at the knife, before turning their eyes over to where it came from. Thereby the couch is the formerly sleeping beauty, standing tall and wielding a boning knife. Eyes flaring red, hair billowing like wind underneath her, and a crazed smile that makes them think she's a ghost again, Desiree says:

" _ **I won't repeat myself.**_ "

There is a collective spout of the word, "Sorry," before they all take up the stairs heading into Danny's room. dark-skinned teen shivers remembering her face.

"Danny, I…" Sam begins as she gets over that scary situation. "I couldn't tell you before because I'm not like Paulina or Valerie. They only like one side of you, and I like every part of you; they'd have never accepted you if they knew the truth of who you were. I figured I'd wait until you grew up and realize what real love is. I was just thinking about you."

Daniel sits down on his bed, eyes focused downward on the floor. He then lifts his head to ask a simple question: "Where was this when I gave up my powers?" Both of his friends are taken aback by that. "You said you accepted and liked every part of me, then why did you have so much trouble accepting my decision to give up my powers?"

"Danny-"

"The only one who supported my decision was Desiree, and you made a wish to keep her away from me." He stands up now. "I asked her why she did it, and she said it's just between the two of them. Were you that jealous of the time we spent together that you wanted to destroy that?"

Offended, she shouts, "Don't make me out to be the bad guy again! You were ready and willing to throw yourself onto another girl just because she was pretty-"

"STOP IT!" he screams, black ecto energy sparking from his hand with that stomp. The lights in the room go off, and the temperature drops. "I'm sick of you trying to dodge anything that puts you on the spot! Is it so hard to say that you were wrong? To say you're sorry?! To own up to your mistakes the way you made me when I slip up?!"

"D-Danny?" The terrifying black in his eyes is something she's never seen before. 'No, that's not true…it was from someone else…Just one else.'

Tucker goes in front of him quickly. "Danny, calm down! You're-OW!" He backs up when his hands feel a spark. That shiver returns from earlier. "So cold!"

"Tuck?!" The half-ghost calms himself, everything returning to its state of normalcy. "I'm sorry! Are you-"

"I'm cool…" he replies, not at all lying."

Feeling something new, he stares at his hands fuming white. "This is dangerously cool. What the hell did Clockwork do to me?" He goes to his drawers and pulls out the Infini-Map, before going ghost and flying past his bedroom wall.

"Danny, wait!" shouts Sam reaching for him.

"What was that about? He was about to go all incredible bulk on us," says Tucker fearfully.

Outside, Danny flies through the skies holding out the map. The thought of hurting his friends is a nightmare he doesn't ever want to experience. "I don't know what's inside of me anymore, but I can't control it. I have to get to the ghost zone now." Before he could activate its functions, he cringes in pain feeling something blast him in the back.

Spinning for a bit mid air, he turns around to spot his attacker. Adding to his day of surprises, a metal hero, on one of those wave boards Valerie would have, floats before him. Unlike the red one from before, this person is silver. "You've finally revealed yourself huh, ghost boy?"

"I'm sorry, but I never saw Power Rangers as a kid. The nearest nerd convention is elsewhere…" speaks the white-haired half ghost with an uninterested gaze on his annoyed face.

He pulls out a pistol from his left. "I am the leader of the Ghost Sheriffs, the Ghost Sheriff Hygro!" He thrusts his arms out like an H posing. "And by the authority given to me by the Guys in White, I shall-" He's already flying off. "HEY!"

The ghost hero keeps flying. "I don't have time to play kick the can." He stops when he spots someone in front of him, another one of the Ghost Sheriffs.

"You have two choices Phantom," speaks Vector aiming his pistol at him. "Come in quietly without a fuss, or in a puddle of ectoplasm."

"Please." Danny turns his head to spot Hygro following. "There's always a third option with me."

"Not this time, Danny," says Vector, surprising the ghost boy by the sudden choice of his given name. "I don't want to kill you."

'Wait. He knows my name?' The two officers fly in for their attack.

* * *

Serena: I can't believe you, you pervert!

Kei: What?! What's wrong with it?!

Yusei: *sighs* Anyway, this chapter will be continued in the next one where Danny fights against the Ghost Sheriffs.


	11. The Eleventh Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Yusei: Morning. Before we apologize for the long wait, we'll be-

Kei: Get on with it!

Julia: This short chapter will feature Danny, of course, and a little chat with Clockwork.

* * *

 ** _The Eleventh Darkness: Heretic Goddess of Death_**

* * *

Bullets rain down upon Danny Phantom, who flies away avoiding their paths. 'Gotta avoid those.' He fires a beam towards the red sheriff, which bounces off of his armor. "Did that just happen?"

"These Pilfergeist suits are built from the green stones that made the Disasteroid, now dubbed Ectoranium. Do you really think we'd be wearing these stupid suits if they weren't practical? Because they're ugly as hell!" Vector fires again, forcing Danny to turn intangible to pass through them.

'Phew. At least that still works.' Hygro cones in from behind, and the Doomsickle forms in his left hand to block the lime colored saber.

"Must you make this difficult?" speaks the sheriff, his tone as gruff as the blade he wields. Black sparks release as the scythe's staff holds up against the sword. "If you really wish to protect humanity you wouldn't make this harder on yourself."

"And if you want me to come without trouble you wouldn't be a douche bag trying to capture me with force!" This response is answered with a punch, sending him flying until he corrects himself. Hygro flies in to slash him, but a well-timed dodge allows Danny full evasion. He then raises his scythe and slashes his arm, ripping off the armor.

Though as he looks closely, he notices that the man's flesh is still intact. 'While it's good it didn't cut him, why?' Backing up quickly he fires a beam of ice, his opponent blocking using an energy shield. "All this anti-ghost stuff is really getting old!"

Another bullet fires, which explodes into ectoplasm and catches him. Hitting the ground, Danny is back solid. "I'd make a joke, but this is too serious and gross."

The red sheriff flies down towards Danny, drawing her sword and aiming it directly between his eyes. "This is why I told you to give up. If only you'd listen to me, Danny."

"Good work newbie," says Hygro from where he floats. "Now, capture him."

Vector raises his blade and stabs downward, narrowly missing his head. The man's eyes flare yellow before he says, "Get out of here."

"Say what?"

"I said go!" Vector draws a gun and aims. The sudden aggression awakens something in Danny, causing a hole opens up underneath him. He falls through, the hole closing up being him. "There."

"Vector!" Hygro lands behind the red sheriff. He presses a circular red light on his chest, and his armor flies skyward into nothing. The man underneath is revealed to be a middle-aged man with dark gray hair and blue eyes. He has a green scar on the front of his face, crossing his nose and his left eye. The man pushes the armored warrior by the shoulder. "I'm disappointed in you. How could you let him go?!"

"I…there's no guarantee that he's really a menace," Vector replies earnestly. "Just trust my judgment."

"Your judgment is as worthless as ghosts in general. You were hired for the Ghost Sheriff program solely because of your experience with the ghost boy, nothing else. I'd figured you'd be ecstatic to end his afterlife."

The red sheriff looms his visor downward before a reading appears on his visuals. "We've got a ghost attack, down at Amity Park Mall!"

"Let's go." Hygro takes out a pistol and aims high. "Electroplate!" Up from above, a silver beam shoots down and encases him in a forcefield of energy. The beam turns green before disappearing with a flash of light, revealing Hygro in his armor. He summons his speeder and they fly away at once, heading for the heavily populated area.

There, the metal heroes see to their shock a strange being just whaling on the building with beams and missiles. It's a mechanized suit standing 10 feet tall. It has a head on the left and another head on the right, both strangely familiar.

"Bring us the ghost boy now!" speaks both heads in unison.

From above the two sheriffs arrive at the scene. Vector speaks, "That's Skulker, the hunter who wears a mechanical suit full of ghost hunting equipment; I recognize that tech."

"He's different from the file," says Hygro before drawing his sword. "But, that doesn't matter. We can at least bring in one ghost."

Vector draws a pistol and aims at Skulker, firing bullets that pierce into his metal body. The white-haired head speaks, "That was poisonous!"

"Technus, that must be the anti-ghost officers the government sent," says the metal head.

"We'll test our powers out on them!" Again in unison, the bulky ghost raises their arms and summons machine guns, missiles and a laser cannon. In no time at all an alpha strike unloads on the sheriffs.

The Ghost Zone…

Falling in through the hole, Danny corrects himself upright and looks around. 'How did I…oh, that power. I need to get some answers now.' Seeing a trail of frost up in his direction, he comes to a thought. "Hmm…that must lead to Frostbite's home. But, I need to find Clockwork."

Returning the Doomsickle to his arm he flies off in search of his ghostly ally. His eyes scan around as he flies about, the green world before him less of a boot to an ant than he first arrived. Nothing at this point could surprise him.

Until he reaches Clockwork's tower. The entire landscape is covered with a crimson field, domed overhead by a spire. Danny comes up to it pressing a hand to the dome, and immediately draws it back as it burns him. "What the?!" He fires an ecto beam, that bounces off and hits him.

He's gotta stop doing that.

"What happened to you, Clockwork?" A thought suddenly comes to mind, and his hand stretches out. Eyes go bright blue before he fires, sending out an ice beam. That white mist crosses over and makes a hole, and Danny flies through.

As he enters, the hole closes up behind him. A figure watches from afar.

Inside the tower, Clockwork eyes his guest. "You've arrived just in time."

"Clockwork, we need to talk-"

"You want to know the truth about your powers, and what happened to make you like that," he quickly responds, causing Danny to kick the air before him.

"Stop doing that!"

"No," he says, turning around as he ages into an elderly man. "We won't have much time, and I'd very much like to keep quiet so my jailer doesn't hear something she might take advantage of."

"Guess I'll ask about that later…" The undying time lord turns over and gives a hand gesture to Clockwork. "What's going on with me? Why am I getting new, dangerous powers? And what's going to happen to me?"

The time lord turns into a child as he says, "Daniel, you probably already understand that you possess memories of Desiree that never happened and the reason why she only recently confessed her feelings for you."

"You knew the whole-" He stops at that. "Of course you do. You set this all up."

"When I saw the future involving this, I saw an alternative future where you could save everyone from the Fallen. They've been hesitant acting out because you wield the best weapon against them, but when they take action you'll be outmuscled and outgunned. That's why I felt it best you learn to turn your former enemies into your allies for the battle, starting with her."

"…and my powers?" He points to his left arm.

"In a different timeline, you were fused together with the Doomsickle by the ghost Dunames. But when Desiree stopped you the scepter was removed from your body."

"Wait, how does that work?"

"The Artifacts of Darkness remain static even if time is rewound." Clockwork becomes an adult. "Because it still held traces of your molecules it could restart your powers if it fused back to you."

"Okay, I get that makes sense. But why are my powers so different? So strong?" Danny asks, holding up his hands to summon ice.

"That's because the substance that the Artifacts of Darkness are made of are now apart of you," he tells him, causing Danny's eyebrows to rise. "It would never have worked if you still had your ghost powers."

The ghost boy pokes at his arm. He then comes to a realization: "You mean…"

"The Artifacts of Darkness are composed of black ectoplasm, the same kind as the spirits who have fallen off the path of reincarnation, as well as one of my time medallions." Danny stares at his hands once more, the white mist of his power revealing itself again.

"Then, I'm not a half ghost…I'm half them."

"Daniel, your ghost powers have evolved further beyond what they were; the white powers are your ice powers to the next level, but…you're still not used to it." As Clockwork explains he flies up to him, turning into an old man. "You're going to need a way to better harness this power, or else it'll destroy everything around you."

"What?!" Danny waves his hand, dispersing the mist. "You gave me this power and didn't tell me the consequences?!"

"I actually did ask if you were willing to take the risk."

"Yeah, but you could at least tell me exactly what's going on!" he says, looking at his arms. "What exactly can I do?"

"Go to your parents. They can help you get your powers together," he says, before turning around suddenly. His eyes gaze down the hall where a bit of noise has gotten his attention. "But first, get out of here. My warden has returned."

"Warden?" Footsteps come forth into the main room. They come closer, slowly like a lion stalking its prey. Soon the owner comes into the time room, revealing her presence and appearance.

She is a tall woman, statuesque, dressed in black leather with green stripes stretched around her outfit from neck to toe. Her high heels remain intact as she walks, a blade on each heel instead of the traditional one. She has a dark emerald cape flowing down from behind, her hair a jelly-like liquid coming down her head moving in a squid tentacle motion. Her emerald eyes gaze down upon the miniature ghost boy, the olive lips she owns pursing upward in a U.

"Well, well, well…look who came to visit." She smiles as she stalks towards him, hands to the side held outward. "Danny Phantom, I presume."

"Who are you?"

"Not too quick on the upswing, are you?" Clockwork asks Danny.

"He told everyone to avoid contact with you until we were all together, except me." She extends her left hand, a blade larger than a longsword firing out at him. He quickly moves to the left avoiding the blade, and the other five that followed. "And I can see why."

"Danny, go!"

"But Clockwork-"

"You're the only one who can leave her force field, so get out of here." Despite the urgency of the situation, his voice betrays that notion.

She draws another sword, swinging it until it disassembles into a chain sword. She thrusts it forward, causing the blade to extend to impale him. He summons the Doomsickle and blocks and gets pushed through the wall.

"Is this how you wield the Doomsickle? Sad. Pariah Dark would be so disgraced if he wasn't absorbed." She flies through the hole, finding Danny flying to the dome.

"Come on, weird power!" He holds a hand out, sending that white mist to create a hole through the red wall.

She stops just before the dome, watching him escape. "Go ahead, run. Take away all the apparent fun. For soon, this world and ours shall be one." She then flies back, her body reverting to a murky form.

Danny continues to make his escape, looking back at Clockwork's tower. His eyes check down on his ribs, where black ectoplasm drips down from a wound. "It's not healing at all…"

He takes out the Infini-map. "He said something about my parents helping…what did he mean?" As he flies, a figure follows after within his shadow.

This figure reveals itself in the light, a top hat is a culprit this time.

* * *

Yusei: This chapter ends, and soon another shall begin.

Kei: Now if you'll excuse us, we need to go see a movie. Next time, Danny speaks to his parents after watching a battle with Skulktech.


	12. The Twelfth Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Yusei: We're back to the phantom zone.

Serena: Stop playing Amity Park!

Kei: No!

Yusei: In this chapter, we follow the aftermath of chapter 11. Here Danny works on getting a new handle on his powers, while every ghost is preparing for him. Mostly downtime.

* * *

 _ **The Twelfth Darkness: Steps To War**_

* * *

Danny continues to fly through the forest colored darkness of the Ghost Zone, eyes planted on the Infini-Map as he traverses. Checking his sights he comes upon a special area and smiles seeing the Ghost Portal closed. "It's here…" He pats it, remembering he can't pass through.

"Well, plan B until I can get that power under control." He pats the map, allowing its power to guide him to an exit to reality. After a few turns, he makes it to a portal and passes through.

Out the other side the ghost vegetable sprouts, and checks his surroundings. From the periwinkle shade walls, he can tell he's inside a room. "Alright, where exactly am I? Smells like Dove." He turns around.

And comes face to face with Desiree wearing nothing but a thinly veiled towel. His face turns a bright red – which shouldn't be possible because he's a ghost and not a human right now – before his nose bleeds twin streams of black.

"You might want to leave before someone sees you," says the ebony goddess before going back to brushing her midnight hair.

Danny covers his nose and quickly dives through the walls, seeing that he's home at Fenton Works. "Why is there a portal in the bathroom?"

He reverts back to his human self while looking around, what he last saw still at the forefront of his thoughts. He quickly heads to his room to try and mitigate the problem in his pants the only way the T-rating will allow him.

'Think of something not sexy. Let's see... dad's underwear! No, not working. Mom wearing his underwear!' He quickly shakes his head. "Nope, just making it worse!" 'Okay, Vlad and mom together!' Inside he feels like puking now. 'Okay, that's working.'

"Knock knock!" He turns around and opens his door to find Desiree just waiting, strapped in a towel. That red face of his returns in retaliation.

"Desiree! Put some clothes on! What if my parents see you?!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't go peeking on girls when they shower." She leans in taking a seat on his bed beside him. "Did you finally come to a decision?"

"No, that was just an accident," he says, hoping to explain himself. "I-"

A finger to the lips shuts him up. "It's okay," she says, her mouth degraded into a frown. "I was just messing with you; besides, you're still a minor."

She adjusts her towel and gets back up. "Also, I heard from your techno friend that something happened with you and her. Want to talk about it?"

"No… I have other things to worry about right now," he tells her, staring at his hands. "Clockwork said the scythe gave me a new power. He was pretty vague about it."

"The Doomsickle you mean?" Hearing the name, he turns his head up to her. "Did he tell you about my involvement with your past?"

"Oh that he did mention, yup. So…" He looks at her, "I'd like to ask more about our time together in that chamber, but first I need to speak to my folks."

"What can they do?"

"Make me a suit to restrict and maintain that power." Those diamond eyes of hers widen at his statement, as he phases through the floor down below.

Desiree sighs watching him go. "I'm gonna hold you onto that, Daniel."

Down below, Danny passes through the kitchen, stopping when he spots his old man and mom sitting and watching television. "Hmm?" On screen, he sees a news bulletin, showing the Ghost Sheriffs tearing Skulker and Technus apart.

"It seems the Guys in White's special ghost officers are actually doing their jobs. Stand back Danny Phantom; we got new ghostbusters in town!" says Lance Thunderman as he reports from the scene. Technus and Skulker are both wrapped in a photon stream as their combined bodies are being dragged away by Hygro alone. Vector stands by a vehicle as the ghosts are dragged inside.

"I guess I can take it easier now," says Danny as he reappears into reality.

"Whoa! Jesus crackers!" shouts Jack upon hearing his son. "Son, you gotta stop doing that."

"Sorry, dad. But," he begins, coming up to him and his mother, "I was hoping to get some help."

Maddie turns her attention to her youngest child. "What is it, sweetheart?" she asks, more concerned than sweetly as usual. Though with everything involved with him that's normal.

Danny takes a seat next to her. "It's my powers." He activates his ice power, which turns into the white mist from before. "Can you do me a favor and refit my ghost suit?"

"What's wrong?"

"I need limiters to control my powers," he says while canceling out his frozen skill. "Is there a chance you can help me out?"

The mother and son stare at one another for a bit. He already knows that she's hesitant to supporting him fighting, but he has no other options. "Mom…"

"I suppose you still need my help…" A defeated sigh escapes her throat as she stands, patting his shoulder. "I'll get to work tonight."

"Hey honey, don't you mean we?" asks her super plump husband.

"No, I'll spearhead this myself. You help Jazz with her issue." That catches his attention. What's wrong with his sister?

"Why not?!"

She turns to give him the look she often delivers to her children. "Jack, who blueprinted the weapons?"

Knowing the far truth, he says, "You did."

"Who's the better fighter?"

He can't argue there. "You are."

"And who knows how to best utilize Ectoranium to make sure our son doesn't die?"

Wait, that's new. "You do?"

"Ectoranium?" asks the young half ghost.

"That's the new element we got from the asteroid that almost destroyed the Earth." For some reason, a flowchart appears beside her showing designs on the stone. "As you know, that meteor was made of a new element composed of solid ectoplasm, right?"

"Where did that chart come from-"

"And because of that the government has dubbed it Ectoranium and added it to the Periodic Table of Elements while handing it over to scientists who study ghosts to see how best it can be implemented in containing spectral entities."

"So that they can capture me huh?"

"I figured but didn't verbally assume," she replies. "Everyone hates ghosts now because of what Vlad did so there's no wonder, and if I didn't know you were him I'd be after that ghost you too." She then smiles. "But don't worry. I know just how to help you."

Danny relays a smile of his own. "Thanks, mom."

Jack stands on the sidelines, almost upset. "Should I even be here?"

Tomorrow…

Bright and early for school, Danny Fenton rushes forth heading for class. Meanwhile, his mother remains in the basement of Fenton Works working on the inner mechanism of her new project. She sits with her goggles over her eyes welding Ectoranium to white gloves. "This should work. Jack, the goggles!"

"Right!"

Back with Danny, he finally enters Casper High, a white mist of death following after him with each footstep. In the hallways, he spots his friends Sam and Tucker standing before a water fountain, as if anticipating his arrival.

This can't be good.

"Sam, Tucker…" he begins, turning to his gothic friend first. "I wanted to say-"

"Save it," Sam says, waving him off quickly. "You've made yourself very clear yesterday… I'm just a friend to you."

"I haven't decided yet!" he shouts back, causing everyone's attention to fly to them. "I-"

"Like I said, save it!" She gives him the goth look. "I mean I get it; I'm not the first choice. But, I won't be your second anymore. You like her, you can go to her! Just get away from me!" With a temper as hard and cruel as vengeance, she storms off heading for class.

Afterward, the crowd disperses, words and conversations like 'nerds breaking up' and 'freaks should get along with freaks' being their main component. Among the watchful bystanders is Paulina, standing by her locker with a shaky composure.

The distraught half ghost boasts his eyes towards the friend of his still remaining, and asks, "Are you mad at me too?"

"No, just shocked," is the response his chappy lips friend gives back. He then adds, saying, "I know it's none of my business what you do with your love life, but you've known Sam for years. And I know for sure you had a thing for her somewhere down the line."

"Tucker, if you really wanted us together why didn't you say anything? You knew I was clueless and you just kept it to yourself."

"It wasn't for me to say, and it's not my fault you couldn't figure it out. I mean, you gave her that wus ring remember?"

"Wus? Oh, right." His mind remembers the ring his father bequeathed to him for his girlfriend, who was going to be Valerie at the time. "Tucker, it's done. I don't know if I want to be with any of them, but if I make a rash decision everyone's gonna regret it. No one will be happy with a half-ass decision, and Desiree is willing to wait."

This acutely astounds his techno-geek friend. "You really thought that through huh?"

He nods to that, before frowning making his way to class. "Let's go."

…

At the Guys in White's 'secret' headquarters, the agents decked out in their bright suits continue to study the ghost they have in captive, the fused Skulker and Technus being. The mechanical compilation remains in a stasis pod, eyes scanning the area.

"So, this is the headquarter's of those annoying tighty whitey men," says the Technus head to his Skulker companion.

"You think it's time to take action?"

"Follow the plan," he says as a reminder, before turning his eyes to the landscape around them. All the scientists are at work studying and overlooking details, as agents pass by with anti-ghost weapons.

"With all these tools I can finally get rid of that whelp, and I mean permanently." The two secretly laugh as Skulker's left eye blinks.

…

Deep within the recesses of her false bound kingdom, the ghost princess Reina Dark sits atop her throne null of an audience, eyes closed as she sleeps. Her flagrating hair begins blowing in a sudden wind.

She scowls baring her fangs when the arrival of the Fright Knight awakens her. Her majesty questions, "What do you want?"

"Technus and Skulker have made their actions."

Eyebrows lowering, she sits upright to ask, "You expect me to believe that those two have captured the boy?"

"No."

"They've located that scumbag Plasmius?"

"Incorrect."

"Then you waste my time!" She draws the Melibur, her overwhelming killer intent on freezing his blood.

"W-What I mean is, they've infiltrated the HQ of those men in silver and are waiting for you to take action."

This bit of news seems to calm Princess Dark, who releases her killer intent while sheathing her golden sword. She may not have to lay heads on a platter after all. "We go now. Gather the others, because it's time for the Six Circles of Hell to serve their ruler."

"Oh, that reminds me… he finally made his decision. And came to visit you personally." Stepping aside, the Halloween knight allows her majesty to be visited by the prison warden and several of his men.

"Walker…" speaks the princess staring him down, brushing aside her crimson hair to view him. "Have you come to an understanding?"

He gives a white cold frown. "As much as I would like to join you in your hunt for the ghost boy, I still have a prison to run. And I cannot in good conscious release those two from custody. The Observants would have my hide."

"Then consider it a pardon," she says in retaliation. "As decreed by your royal highness."

"You're still technically not our-" A scarlet light builds before them in the shape of a ghost ray. "Nevermind." Walker then whispers to the Fright Knight, "How do you deal with her?"

"I know, right?"

"What was that?!"

Later…

With Danny, he can be seen in class getting his stuff ready to leave Lancer's classroom. As he does he spots his friends leaving, but doesn't bother seeing the look she's giving him.

Sighing, he goes out the door and passes by the water fountain near the locker rooms. There he spots Paulina sitting by her locker, hands covering her face. Though when he notices the sound coming off her and the trashed collection of his ghost self's merchandise, he can tell what that is.

Another much heavier sigh escapes his throat seeing her, before walking away knowing he won't be able to help – along the way he passes by someone else, who throws his hands up happily upon realizing she's no longer in Danny Phantom's court.

On his way home he makes a march for Fenton Works. Along the way, he stops when his breath becomes visible and chilly. "Uh oh." He looks around for the source of his cold, and spots overhead a march of ghosts flying off.

From a glance, he can pick out the Skulker and Technus body double – sort of since it looks vastly different than from on television – the Fright Knight, Aragon as the black dragon, and the princess Reina Dark at the forefront. Danny remains in hiding as he watches them part, before finding a secret place to go from the gathering crowd that came to watch them.

Turning invisible, he changes into Danny Phantom and flies away in the direction they fled from. From high above and his legs in a tail he scans the landscape, noticing some smoke coming far off in the distance outside of the acres of Amity Park.

Down by a secret facility, or not so secret anymore, surrounding by greenery instead of buildings like in Amity Park, this place is clearly decimated. People lying on the ground half dead, debris and scrap metal plastered about, and flames charring the sides of the facility.

Danny enters in and gets a good look around. "Hey. So this is where the Guys in White hideout…" He checks around, eyes taking in the burns, scars, slash marks, and unconscious bodies left behind.

The ghost hero checks out the nearest person, who ends up being alive to his relief. "Phew…"

As he continues to check more people, he notices the black guy he always runs into finally waking up. The phantom flies before him and grabs his no longer clear white collar, asking, "What happened? What did they do?!"

"Ghosts… broke out…destroyed equipment…" is all he makes out, before dropping his head down falling unconscious.

"Man, talk about a…no, this is too serious to joke about," he says before turning his eyes down the halls. "I better get out of here."

Becoming as see through as saran wrap he flees the facility. 'Gotta get the thermos out of my locker! Why do I keep leaving it there? It's like I WANT to get beat up.'

Before he could return to town, he stops before a bullet could hit him. "What the…" Danny glances down at whatever tried to hit him and spots Vector down below. "Oh no, it's him."

"Come down here Phantom." The scarlet pistol cocks as he takes aim at the ghost boy with the scope directed at his skull. He's clearly not in the mood for a friendly conversation.

"Look, I can't stay."

"Then you can tell me why you came out of our headquarters, and what happened to it."

His gray-gloved hands stretch out to her. "Look, it wasn't my fault if you're assuming that."

"Of course not; I know you better than that."

"You do?" This actually surprises him. How exactly would he know him? Just who is this guy behind the mask, someone he knows?

"What do you know?"

"A group of ghosts just left here, and I don't know where they're gonna hit next!"

Vector steadies his aim carefully for his skull. "Then you better hurry up."

"Wait, you believe me?" he asks suddenly.

"You wanna stand here and waste time?" He sheathes his pistol and flies into his base.

Without any other reason to, the now single tailed teenage half-ghost flies off to the city of Amity Park without a moment to lose. He'll find out just who that red sheriff is, one of these days.

* * *

Kei: I am so glad that's over. Now we can get to the true battle; next time, Danny and Vector have to work together, against spoilers. Try to guess where Reina attacks next.

Yusei: Serena wants you to stop playing that game.

Kei: Shut up. I will not change who I am just to make other people feel more comfortable. It's just a game.


	13. The Thirteenth Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

 ** _The Thirteenth Darkness: Return of the Six Circles_**

* * *

In the basement of Fenton Works, Maddie continues her hard work on the next ghost related project. Sparks explode out before her eyes through the red tint of her goggles. She sees something of interest as she works on the gloves of the suit.

"Instead of gray, this white tint will work better and contain those streaks he kept getting…" she says as she moves onto the next part. Taking an orb of Ectoranium she welds it to the boots.

As she works, the doorbell above rings. In the living room Jazz walks to the door and opens it up, where before her stands Danny's friends – hopefully – Sam and Tucker, the emerald shine of the ghost shield behind them. "Oh, hey. What is up, guys?"

"Please stop doing that," Tucker tells her, almost gagging.

Sam, with her resting dog face, asks, "Is Danny here?"

"No, not that I know of," she replies. "Of course with how he just comes and goes through the walls I wouldn't be surprised." She then mutters something else in probable relation.

"Excuse me…" The two turn around to see the ebony girl walking in with an exhausted expression. Desiree slinks past the young ones and plops on top of the couch. "Tired… don't wake me…"

Remembering what happened last time, Tucker and Sam leave for the kitchen forcefully dragging the older sister with them. "Why did we-"

"Trust us…" is their unified response.

"Kids, is that you?" The trio looks to the steps leading down into the basement and spots Maddie coming up to visit them, her goggles still present over her face. "Hello, Sam and Tucker. Jazz, are you doing okay?"

"Much better. That suit fits like a charm; tell dad I said thanks." The two her age eye her curiously wondering just what that is supposed to mean.

Any and all conversations in the process of premiering end when there's a knock on the door. "Danny Phantom, come out!"

Maddie, Tucker, Sam, and Jazz step out the front door, coming face to face with the horrid number of ghosts facing them down: Prince Aragon, Undergrowth, Vortex, Technus with Skulker, the Fright Knight, Walker, and Reina Dark at the forefront of them. She delivers a mighty glare upon the humans on the other side of the portal, reflected back by the oldest female and the goth.

"Whoa. It's like every bad guy coming together…" says Tucker in awe, fear and possible annoyance, "to create a sinister team of six."

"What do you want?" Sam quickly asks.

"Danny Phantom. Bring him out, now," is the demand of the redhead as she draws the Melibur from her arm.

"Who are you to give me orders?" Maddie barks.

"You are speaking to the Queen of Ghosts, you skin-tight wearing tart," speaks the Halloween soldier. "You will watch your tone."

"Hurry up and proliferate that incessant meat bag!" says the towering plant ghost.

"Sorry, but we don't even know the meaning of that word!" Sam says, drawing an ecto-gun from her bracelet.

"It actually means-" The goth glare shuts up Jazz. "Sorry."

Maddie pulls down her hood. "Besides, my son isn't here."

"Oh." Reina sheathes her sword. "Then you won't mind me taking a look-see."

"Yes I do mind actually," she retorts.

"You heard her, Draculina! Danny isn't here, so get lost!" Tucker says with the included quip. "Besides, you and your exes ain't getting through that ghost shield!"

Snapping her fingers, Reina points to the mechanized fusion. "Skulker, Technus, make my day."

"That's Skulktech 1.0 ma'am," says Technus as Skulktech summons a sonic cannon and fires a high pitch wail. The vibrations pierce in through the barrier, rattling the building.

It doesn't take long for the generator inside to overload and break down, causing the barrier around the home to shatter, falling down on the earth like jade glass. The humans look in shock seeing how the ghosts have been able to break through.

"Well, that happened," says Sam in annoyance.

Reina then steps forward as she points her finger, summoning a magenta ghost ray at the tip of her finger aiming at Maddie. "Now, if you don't mind getting out of our way before we-"

Vines shoot out of Undergrowth and entangle Sam and Tucker, raising them high above the ground as they scream in mortal terror. "Is it just me, or are you sick of being grabbed too?" Tucker asks his goth friend.

"That's what happens when you're friends with someone with ghostly enemies," she reminds him.

"What are you doing, Tree Force?" asks the queen of Undergrowth.

"I'm fulfilling my goal in this arrangement," he bellows with the undertone of a theatrical villain, "and getting back the caretaker for my garden."

"Oh god, he remembers me," she mutters as Maddie draws her laser gun. Jazz activates the Fenton Peeler, metal detaching and reassembling onto her person as it is wont to. Fully armed she takes aim.

"Not so fast!" Out from the door leaps the hefty Jack Fenton, wielding a bazooka with both arms landing just in front of the ground.

Only to slip on his behind slamming his head into the dirt and sliding into a trash bin, making it flip in the air. As if a cartoon character, he gets back up relatively unscathed, aiming his bazooka shouting, "Let them go right now unless you want to be blown apart molecule by molecule," before the trash can lands on top of him. "Fudruckers!"

So, as Jazz was doing, she takes aim at the ghosts to peel them away, only for a stream of flames to bombard her courtesy of Aragon's breath. She cries as the heat overwhelms her, melting the suit onto her very skin.

"JAZZ!" Maddie fires at the dragon, but it's too late. Her daughter's armor is left in a crater of azure dragon flames, smoldering and charring until exploding. No sign of Jazz can be seen in the destructive hellfire.

"Jazz!" shouts Tucker and Sam upon seeing that event.

Reina comes in from behind and lands on top of the mother, her blade stabbing and piercing the weapon she dropped having it explode into nothing but scraps. The princess of ghosts, a title she still despises, glares down upon Maddie before removing her boot, allowing the high specter to grab her by the collar and hoist her high. She speaks in a commanding tone, "Now, as I said, get me Danny Phantom."

"Hey lady!" She quickly looks up at the speedy gray bullet coming down her way, scythe was drawn and ready. "Get your hands off my mom!"

She delivers a toothy grin seeing his arrival finally, eyes poised as she gestures Undergrowth to move. He summons vines as he speaks, "It's about time I got revenge on you, boy!"

Not a single moment of hesitation, a cyan glow shines on the blade of his Doomsickle as Danny swings, and everything in front of him is covered in snow. Danny lands just in front of the now frozen tree ghost, slashing his scythe to release his two friends. Two clones form from his being to catch and safely bring them down.

"You guys okay?" he asks them as soon as they're out of harm's way.

"Thanks, man," says Tucker to one clone before it disappears.

"This doesn't change anything," replies Sam, before that one goes too.

The original Danny faces off against the ghost princess. "Reina! Get off my mother right now."

"Danny, run!" Obliging to his demands, Reina removes her boot before summoning the green energy to chain her arms. Maddie struggles despite her confinement.

"Let her go!" The Melibur raises and out fires a flurry of Undergrowth's vines to strike and force back the ghost boy into the ground. He recovers floating over the ground as he glares.

With the grace of the queen of destruction, she raises her left index finger and points to him just before at its tip a magenta light forms into a tiny ball.

"Bang."

It fires, a magenta bullet of light speeding at its appropriate acceleration past the likes of everyone, coming to a final stop at its target. Its impact erupts into an explosion of power that levels the building and razes everything inside and out.

Danny drops his head down at his abdomen, noticing a hole of drooping emerald blood oozing out from the wound he now sports. He drops down as the scythe returns to his person, glaring up at the woman who fired that at him in the first place, who glides across the ground making his way towards the boy now turning into a human. "You can survive ecto blasts from even my father, so this is something I came up with. It's essentially the same power condensed enough that it can pierce through even the toughest armor. My little secret weapon against you."

She then snaps her fingers, and without hesitation Vortex and Aragon unleash flames upon the unfortunate ghost boy. The intense heat comparable to the sun's solar flare rage moments explodes ends after a vastly perilous moment in time. In the dying mixture of blue and red, the eyes of the ghost villains look in shock at what they see; a scarlet forcefield of ghost energy is up protecting the human child from imminent immolation. The strangest moment of this is that the one doing so isn't the ghost boy at all, but another red figure inside of the portal just above him.

This ghost is a dazzling female no bigger than Phantom himself. Her hair flows like mind-controlled tentacles, the texture and color thin and soft as fur while an expressive blue, the direct equivalent to a bloody sapphire. She has skin as white as the ghost boy's in his other form, eyes a direct opponent to cyan in the color scarlet. The remainder of her attire is modeled in that color along with a much darker one, black and cobalt. She wears a one-piece tunic dress combination, complete with long black sleeves and blue gloves, strips of green across the shoulders to make the arms seem separate, and a skirt made of five separate flaps. She also wears black leggings with cobalt boots, making the skirt seem pointless, and a symbol on her chest showing a makeshift J part of a P.

Danny recovers enough to get a good look at his savior and notices the female ghost who ended up saving his life. The others entangled look on as well, noticing her strangely familiar features. After seeing that scarlet headband it hits them how recognizable it is. Though what she says afterward really gets their attention.

"Stay away from my brother!"

"Brother?"

"Brother?!" Sam repeats.

"Wait a second…" Tucker squints to try to get in a closer look. "Is that Jazz!?"

"Jazz?!" Danny says when he realizes his techno buddy may be right.

Jazz Phantom, gonna work on that name, turns around to face her younger yet more experienced brother and say, "Hi Danny."

"Break right through!" The dragon and weather ghost continue their assault, forcing Jazz to use more of her energy. But as they press on, she starts to drop down to his side.

"Jazz!" The younger sibling finally takes action, transforming back into Danny Phantom and grabbing her before turning intangible. This allows the flames to pass through harmlessly when the barrier breaks seconds after he touched her. The two then fly out of the way of more flames as they reenter existence, before being caught off guard and blasted by Reina.

The princess flies in towards Danny, stomping him into the ground, and aims her sword high. She speaks, "I hope you bear no ill will towards me, but I have no intention of handing over my father's hard-earned throne to an outsider. As a ghost remember that you are and always will be a soldier in my army."

"Wait, your majesty!" says the Fright Knight. "You never said you were going to kill him. That would be a grave mistake."

Angrily she bares her fangs at the Halloween specter. "Elaborate before I destroy your mind!"

"It's just, there isn't a formal prospect to this. You can't take away his life and expect it to be over…" The menacing emerald eyes of the knight turns to Danny Phantom, who continues to struggle despite his wounds. "The only reason he's just a hindrance now is because he lives. Take that away, and he's not bound to the human world anymore."

"So I can't just kill him and take control over him as Queen?" He gives a nod, and receives a slash. "And you just wait to tell me this now?!"

"I…I'm sorry," he says as forcefully as possible.

"Then there's that." The princess turns to the rest of the ghosts saying, "We're leaving. Take her with us."

Skulktech grabs the mother as they collect together. "Wait…what are you doing?" shouts Jazz as she recovers.

Reina tosses an item to the downed ghost boy before slashing an opening through dimensions. "We'll settle this another time, Phantom. Meet me at this designated location in three days. That should give you more than enough time to heal and prepare for our challenge. Otherwise, your mother joins my army." With a snap of her fingers, Maddie is dragged away into the Ghost Zone along with the rest of the villains and her majesty.

"MOM!"

…

Together in the living room, the Fentons and company come together sitting while contemplating their latest problem. Or in this case, problems. Danny and Jazz, both in their ghost forms, sit on the edge of the couch, which Desiree provided having woken up after the battle, the second half ghost turning his eyes to his sister.

"So…anything you wanna share about the elephant in the room?" he asks her, a question both Tucker and Sam would like an answer to as they stand up letting their father sit on the other end of the couch.

"I really don't wanna talk about it," she says to him.

"You might as well, or else he won't leave." Danny then glares at the ghost elephant tiptoeing away. "He's gonna be everywhere, isn't he? Also, how do you have ghost powers?"

Jazz turns an eye over to her father. "Well, she's the one who turned on the ghost portal."

This causes our spectral protagonist to jump up in shock. "Why would you do that?! I was a freak accident."

"But it's the same way you and Vlad got powers, so I figured it could work for me," she replies, eyes on her younger brother with hope for his understanding. "I wanted to fight alongside you, and when mom and dad fixed the portal I knew I could get them back by doing the same thing you did. Thankfully, there's no On/Off switch inside the portal this time."

"Yeah, that was a smart idea," Tucker speaks with a snort on the side. "You could have still gotten ecto acne or something."

As they go back and forth, a few thoughts reverberate throughout the mind of the secretly rich goth chick. She, on the other hand, feels upset about this revelation than surprised, mostly because she didn't think to do this first. She could have been different just like Danny, and he'd be able to connect with them better.

Desiree is simply sitting in the dark in this conversation. She doesn't know much of what's going on, only what she saw in the last few seconds before seeing Reina leaving.

"Look, we need to do something about her," says Danny as he checks the card. "She wants me to face her in the Ghost Zone in a one on one fight…"

"Danny, how do you even know this lady? Who is she?" Sam suddenly asks.

The normally confident ghost boy prepares to give his honest reply, though in all honesty, he doesn't really know what to say.

"Her name is Reina Dark." All eyes are on the person who spoke, the cocoa adult standing on the sidelines. "She's Pariah Dark's one and only daughter, and the self-proclaimed Queen of Ghosts." Eyes narrowing as they look upon her in shock, she adds, "Former ghost."

"Oh yeah…" In unison.

"As far as I know, she's always wanted that title, but has always followed the law to reach her goals, and she was probably the one who set him free…"

"But what does that have to do with me?"

The adult woman glances over at the object of her desires and feelings, before sighing. "Danny, when Pariah Dark fought you and you won you gained the authority to replace him. She might think you're a threat to him."

"But then why…" Danny looks at his left hand. "Why would she give me that weapon if I was a threat to her…"

"Weapon?" This is Sam.

Desiree narrows her eyes looking at him. Pieces are starting to form. 'So that's how it went back to him, which means Clockwork was working with her… thank god.' "She's pretty complicated… all women are."

"So basically, she wants to beat Danny in front of people in order to gain true control of the throne…" The goth girl finally speaks her two cents as she glares at the group around her. "It's pretty much a repeat of that ol' fart with the mace."

"And mom…"

"Probably to make sure you show up," Jazz says as she adds her own thoughts. "I'm going to start training my powers…"

"I'll help you," says the little brother boasting more confidence this time.

"No, I got it. You need to work on your upcoming match."

"But you need someone who knows how to use ghost powers!"

"I've been watching your battles on recorded videos; that's how I did the shield thing." Regardless, the two walk off together.

Jack takes it upon himself to stand up, eyes more determined than ever. "Then I guess it's up to me to finish Maddie's work. Danny!" The big fudge man runs off after his children.

With the two stars gone, Desiree heads off to leave Sam and Tucker, until the former says, "Stop right there Desiree… what exactly do you know about this weapon?"

"I don't know. Why don't you wish for it?" The lovely adult then flares a glare upon the child before taking off, her immediate dislike as plain as the nose on her face.

Those fingers grasp the armrest of the couch so hard it crushes under her unnatural strength, frightening Tucker. "As soon as Danny's mother is safe, you're gonna wish you weren't human."

Elsewhere…

In the darkness of the green void, a top hat floats before the likes of a figure standing in the midst of the shadows, the only visible form of him shown is the silhouette of red over black. His fangs bare as he screams in pain, the red veins of his muscles bulging and tearing away at his silver clothes.

"All for revenge huh? Well, it better be worth it." A figure appears from underneath the hat, accompanied by the clanging sounds of metal and cogs like a steampunk dream come true.

Dark Palace…

Reina Dark looks down upon Maddie Fenton within the confines of her palace, pulling away at the covering on her mouth. "What are you gonna do to my son?"

"He, unfortunately, stands in the way of what I've always wanted. So I'll make an example of him for those Observants." She then slams it back on her mouth. "As for you, you're just to make sure he arrives."

Once that's over with she opens the door to leave. "You'll be receiving food in the next two hours. And don't try to escape; I've had Fright Knight enchant the surfaces so you can't pass through."

With that, the door shuts close, leaving the unfortunate woman alone in the emerald darkness with naught but a bed. The chains have long since left her arms and legs, but she remains tired staring at her legs unable to cope or take action.

She's actually inside the Ghost Zone. All those years she's known her son entering this world with his friends, now she's here. She'd be even more ecstatic if she wasn't a prisoner, or at least had weapons.

She would go further on it if she didn't see a green mist seeping in through the window. " **Oh. A human in Purgatory… well, beggars can't be choosers.** "

"Who's there?!" Eyes widen when she feels something, a blade left in and out of her. And yet, nothing. No pain.

* * *

Yusei: Well, we're back to it. The next chapter will be the penultimate of this saga, where we'll finally move onto the Heretic Saga.

Kei: Which will end in another fifteen chapters probably.


	14. The Fourteenth Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

* * *

 ** _The Fourteenth Darkness: Danny Phantom Rebirth_**

* * *

The day has arrived. Three days have come and gone, giving rise for time to settle just right. What that means is it's fighting day for Danny.

He gets up out of bed bright and ready, dressing in his usual gear despite the intensity of what he is destined to come across. Doesn't even grab his backpack, knowing he isn't going to school today; his dad can make up an excuse.

Phasing through his door, he comes upon Sam and Tucker just waiting on the other side, each one with varying degrees of expression and worry. He asks, "What's wrong guys?"

"Danny, are you going to be okay?" asks Tucker as he looks at his half ghost friend.

"Of course. I'm ready for her. This won't be like last time," he replies, his voice beaming with stalwart confidence.

"You better," Sam finally says. "I don't want you to die before I can forgive you, and that's gonna take a while."

"Thanks, Sam." With a defeated sigh resigning to her callous response, he phases through the floor heading into the basement of Fenton Works.

There at the bottom, he sees his father awaiting him by the Ghost Portal with Jazz and Desiree waiting for him. "Danny, are you ready?"

"Don't worry dad," says his daughter as she goes to her brother's side, her tangerine kissed hair flowing with her movements. "I'll be looking after him."

"But Jazz, you barely just got your powers. I don't know if-"

"I'm not going to leave you in the Ghost Zone by yourself. We're going to save mom together." She raises her hand to him, and her more experienced brother takes and shakes it.

"Right."

"Now Danny, remember your limits. Everything you need to know about your suit is programmed in the visors," says their moderately overweight father to them.

"Thanks, dad," he replies, sporting a confident grin to his only sibling. The two go to the portal as he turns it on, before stepping inside with intense scowls and determination.

Jack then checks the monitor as they pass through, before locking it shut. "Good luck, Danny."

The Ghost Zone…

Out within the recesses of the emerald lit realm of purgatory, Danny and Jazz fly out from the portal. With no equipment or gear on their human selves, they fly through the ghastly air.

She appears to be having trouble. "This is harder than I thought, flying in human form."

"You get used to it," he replies as they press on.

"Why aren't you in your ghost form?"

"Everyone here already knows what I look like. Also, the Ghost Zone is like a reverse of the real world; here, we're the ghosts and can pass through anything," he tells her, making the girl pat her hands together.

"Oh! Is that how it works? Good to know."

They continue forth heading through the air. The male half ghost checks the card for directions, and immediately recognizes the main appearance it holds. Indeed, it's Pariah Dark's castle.

As they traverse, Jazz speaks her mind. "Have you ever thought that this is a trap?"

"Oh, duh. It'd be easier to ask who doesn't think this is a trap."

"So you're not worried?"

"Of course I am. But I'm also prepared." He hands her the Fenton Thermos. "Just in case."

Eventually, they reach the royal settlement, the towering palace and its wide field open for all to see. Adding to that is the massive army of ghosts that have assembled surrounding the arena like a crowd to see a baseball game. Or, to be more accurate, Americans coming to see a football game.

He lands with his sister in the midst of the opening, where the gargantuan gathering starts to look familiar to him. He recognizes every ghost who has come to take him out at his home, as well as spirits he's put away over the past year. He even spots Nightmare and Frostbite, but not Clockwork.

From above he watches her, seeing the vampiric ghost princess descending down. Her scarlet black cape flows in the euphoric wind as she comes before her half dead opponent, her sword the Melibur drawn as she completes the entrance landing. Reina Dark then snaps her fingers.

"Observants, as you have requested, he's here!" she says in a commanding voice that echoes throughout the zone. Up above, the eyeball spirits watch in spectator seats made of shapeshifting ghosts. "Now all throughout Purgatory will witness my triumph over the ghost boy."

"Where's our mom?" he demands angrily, not giving a pig's knuckle for what she just said.

"Oh, she's fine," she answers, pointing over at her palace with her blade. "In my palace, she rests, imprisoned waiting for you to take her home. After our battle."

Jazz comes up to her, gripping the princess by the collar of her clothes. "What's this all about?!"

She grabs her hand and twitches, making the scarlet half ghost cry out in pain before she's thrown aside. "My right to rule."

"Jazz!" He goes to her side with excessive worry, taking a knee.

"I'm okay."

"Due to rules that were unknown to me, I cannot rule this world if someone else has that right. Having challenged and beaten Pariah Dark before, you have the entitlement that I cannot override."

"And killing me would have given you that?"

"I must beat you within a formal challenge around spectators, or else your death will mean you just become a ghost." She raises her hands to the Observants watching from above. "With them watching, there will be no question about my authority and I can take over as the Queen of Ghosts."

The spectral princess stretches her hand out toward Danny, sending a beam that hits him. The magenta energy circles around the human as he groans, placing a hand on the ground to keep from hitting his face. "What…is this…"

"It's a special beam I created for the likes of humans like you, so you can't move while you're in that form of yours. Not all of us have the luxury of being a half ghost," Reina explains, before swiping her sword aside. "Now, begone little girl. This is between me and your brother."

The scarlet half-ghost isn't having it. "You kidnap my mom and torture my brother; of course it's personal!"

"Jazz!" he shouts, pushing himself up. He releases ectoplasmic energy from his body around him in an aura, glaring at her as it turns black. "I'll save mom, and put an end to this bull shit. I'm going ghost!"

Pumping his fists back, twin white rings of energy encircle Danny. They pass over him, turning the boy into his ghost half Danny Phantom. But instead of the usual jumpsuit, our favorite half-ghost is revealed to be wearing new gear.

His new suit clings more tightly to him, with black straps for tightening on the sides of his abdomen, legs, and arms. His boots and gloves are predominantly white with the left arm having a watch-like device attached – it's emerald in color and possesses a black cross in the center – and the right having a silver attachment wrapped around. The suit retains its dominant white color scheme with black being on his chest, biceps, underneath his belt, and down his legs. He also sports a silvery white cape that hangs just above the ground and an emerald visor over those white blue orbs he calls eyes. Across his chest rests the DP symbol, colored with a green P inside a black D.

The new and improved Danny Phantom stands tall as the magenta energy leaves him, the audience in awe at his new appearance. Even Reina is impressed. "So, you brought your Sunday best this time. Congrats! Now I can crush you at your best."

The Observants then rise. "This battle between Reina Dark and Danny Phantom shall begin; the two are to fight until one person either dies or concedes, and neither is to use any items unless those they've brought that do not include healing. The winner shall gain the full right to rule this realm as the king or queen of ghosts upon their afterlife. Commence!"

Jazz flies away to give space as Danny flies forth, throwing a punch at her charging with black ectoplasm. She blocks using her sword, a move he expected. "You know, at first I didn't care about you or that whole ruling thing, but I think it's best left in the hands of someone who wouldn't kidnap a guy's mom to get what she wanted!"

"Oh, get over it! It isn't as if I need to kill you. All humans are below me…" She pushes back, deflecting his fist. With a spin, she kicks him across the field.

"Cut him apart!" shouts someone in the audience.

"Make him cry!" says Penelope Spectra.

"Hit him wit' a box!" Guess who?

She wields her Artifact of Darkness drawing the guard along the length of the blade and sliding it back, before sending a wave of energy. Before her appears Vortex and Vlad Plasmius, something that understandably shocks Danny.

"What the?! I thought this was a one on one fight!"

"It is." She then points to the audience, and Vortex in the crowd just as confused.

"Wait, you can make clones?" The duplicate Vortex sends out bolts of blue lightning to zap Danny, who flies out of their path before firing green beams to counter. Duplicate Vlad with his ghost tail slithers behind Danny, and with a hand charged with red energy smacks him into the pavement.

"If you think my power is to create clones, then you don't understand the power of my Artifact of Darkness…" Reina raises her sword. "It can read people's memories. Within those lockets of time, I can dive in and retrieve something I like, materializing it into reality."

She then gestures to the duplicates before her, as if saying voila, before ordering them to attack. The fake Vlad splits into four copies and fire purple beams at Danny while Vortex sends a stream of flames.

"Fakes huh…" Taking a moment to lift his visor, the green on his watch turns white as he summons his ice powers. With a wave of his hand, space rends in front of him causing the attacks sent his wave to enter a void.

As it closes up, another opens just over the top of Vortex and he is promptly and immediately vaporized by the attacks that would have hit Danny. His remains disappear into green dust.

The crowd gapes in shock. The real Vortex asks, "What was (loud gasp) that?!"

Not giving time for a beat, Danny splits into four clones, with each one summoning the Doomsickle and slicing up the clones. Only one manages to avoid death, taking a step back to prepare a supercharged beam. Two of Danny's clones disappear while one flies overhead and fires an ice beam, forcing Vlad to form a sphere of energy to protect himself.

But even as he holds it up, a rend in reality just behind Vlad opens up, and the Doomsickle impales in through his back out his chest. He voicelessly swats at the blade through his chest before dispersing into dust.

"So, you wear that suit in order to control that power of yours," Reina says as she views them. She raises her sword again, and a ghostly wail expels out towards Danny.

He hears it coming and summons a white shield to protect himself, recognizing the attack. "Wait, that's my-"

"Like I said, anything I like." The barrier he wields begins to crack.

The crowd cheers on as she appears to be winning, all of them rooting for the defeat of the half-ghost bane of their non-existence. Jazz sits far from the audience knowing they won't take too kindly to her. "Danny…"

"He's doing pretty well," says a new voice, surprising her. She turns around to spot Zalam standing just next to her.

"You! You're that guy who stole the Reality Gauntlet!" The girl phantom stands to summon the scarlet energy.

"Save it. If I wanted to kill you I'd have done it back then," he tells her, flipping his black sword by the chain. "I just came to watch the fight."

"What exactly are you after?"

A finger to his lips adds to a shush. "Secret."

Back to action, Danny flies about dodging her finger beams, each one getting closer and closer. He opens up a portal and flies through, coming in at her from behind, a move she expected for she swings keeping him at a distance. This is followed up with stabs to his face, forcing him to dodge.

Moving in quick he summons a sphere of green energy and slams it at her face. Making contact makes him believe he got the hit in, but this disappears when her face slides along the sphere, the work of spectral manipulation. 'Damn!'

Reina slashes across his chest, making him fly back away from her to avoid more blows. His cape flows over everything below his neck, covering him like a bat in the knight. "Is that all you can do?"

"It's not about quantity, but quality." She fires another finger beam, which he dodges by tilting his head to the right, leaving him open.

She flies in quickly and stabs his center, piercing through his cape through to the back. This causes an uproar thinking she won. His sister's shouting for worry can be heard in the background.

However, something's off. "Wait. I don't feel anything."

"I can shift my body too." The cloak flows open, revealing Danny's chest is shrunken and twirled to avoid the blade. "The cape's for misdirection, stupid. As if I'd wear something this tacky; it's not cool."

"I've read your memories, liar."

"Shut up!" He kicks her back, but as she comes in closer for a decapitation, he grabs his head and pulls it back, while his other hand stretches out aiming a cyan beam. She gets blown further back now, slowly turning into an icicle as it continues to blast her.

He summons the Doomsickle, and having half of it extends to swirl it like a blade on a chain, throws it at her. It swipes across the air like a fan as it continues towards her.

Her eyes glowing red, she amasses energy to break free and fire eye beams to divert its path. Reina then raises her sword, summoning duplicates of a larger variety of Danny's enemies; this time there's the Box Ghost, Aragon, Ember, Technus, Skulker, and the Fright Knight. Once they arrive, she takes a knee making orders: "Get him."

If this keeps up he'll get tired before he can get in a good blow to finish her. Looking around, he decides now's the time to try something new. Closing his eyes, his watch turns black with a white cross, as all above the battlefield appear stars. Everyone stares up above seeing it.

"Oh no." Reina summons a shield around herself.

Pointing his right hand in the shape of a gun, Danny shouts, "Darkest Plasma," before all those stars shoot down in a bombardment upon the duplicates and Reina. The battlefield is covered in white explosions, leaving all in awe.

Concluding this attack, Danny takes a knee looking forth, as the smoke clears away to show Reina underneath the fading body of Aragon. Despite that, she's shown to be bleeding from her legs, forehead, and left shoulder. Her expression is furious.

"Damn you, Danny Phantom! I knew what that attack was, but I couldn't defend against it…"

"Can't do that very often," he mutters, out of breath having used that attack.

As Jazz cheers, the ghostly members watching converse with one another, some out of worry for should he win.

"Oh balls…" speaks Skulktech 1.0 as he watches. "If he wins, any attempt I make to hunt him may be preceded as an assassination."

"This isn't going well…" says Walter rubbing his hands. "I can't imprison the king… unless he's impeached."

"Yes!" says princess Dora with glee. "If he wins I know this realm will be safer for my people…" She then thinks further. "…maybe I can strengthen our relationship even more."

Aragon, sitting not too far from her, narrows his eyes having heard her last mutter. His eyes then turn to Jazz with a smirk. 'Maybe I can as well…'

Danny gets back up and walks towards her. "You wanna give up now? I bet you can't make any more of those clones without tiring yourself out."

"Shut up!" She makes a stand and raises her sword, which gets wrapped up along with her arm by a chain and pulled down, courtesy of Danny's scythe's bottom end having turned into chains.

He then pulls her forth and flips over her, pulling back so his scythe's blade is by her neck. "I honestly don't mind cutting you down for kidnapping my mom, but I'm still kind of grateful for giving my power back. Now yield."

Reina tries to break free, but with her sword pulled with an arm to the right of her neck, she can't really move it. "A Dark never surrenders!" She twists her right hand to point her finger at his abdomen, charging magenta energy. "Bang."

Her beam fires, entering a rend in space he made just in time, that pierces through her sides. She bleeds from her newly made wounds and mouth as the beam continues and explodes one of the audience stands, as well as everyone sitting on that section.

Releasing her, Danny lets Reina drop-down face forward. "I yield…"

A collection of gasps can be heard on repeat. The Box Ghost shouts, "He is our lord and master now! Run for your lives!"

"Now hold up!" begins the male half ghost. Jazz jumps up with joy. "I never said I wanted to be king! I mean, it seems like a nice idea, but-"

"Danny Phantom," speaks one of the Observants up above, "you have one this challenge. As such, you have full authority to rule over this realm as the new King of Ghosts when your time has come."

"Like I said…" He stops. "Wait, when my time… oh, so I have to die first." He smiles at that, meaning he can look forward to something in the afterlife.

Jazz then flies in as a collection of boos now reverberate from the crowd now, the female half ghost hugging her victorious brother. "You did it!"

"Yes… you did all right…" Reina turns her head looking up at her victor, eyes filled with the obvious emotions of hatred. "You beat me. No matter how much of an advantage, no matter how much experience…"

"I haven't exactly been stale either," he retorts. "I just wasn't aware of a princess being so strong. Usually, you need a big strong guy to solve all your problems."

"This isn't Disney." Jazz pokes him in his ear, before glaring at the fallen princess. "Reina, we're taking our mother back. If you threaten us again, next time I'm coming for you."

Together, the siblings walk towards her towering palace to reclaim their prisoner of a mother. That is when they notice it, the blue and red wisps of air coming from their respective mouths. Looking up they see the possible source of the ghost signal, a meteor coming down for the battlefield. It shatters upon impacting the field, breaking it apart and creating dust clouds to mask everything. Two hands shoot out and grasp the siblings, taking them further down into the deeper depths of the Ghost Zone.

Reina pushes herself up, looking for whatever that was. "What happened?"

"Hey, miss princess." She angrily turns to the ghost she intends to murder for that and sees Zalam by her palace steps. "Instead of worrying about those two and him, how about worrying about her?" He points back up at the top of the steps, as Maddie Fenton can be seen coming down.

"You? How did you get free of your prison?!"

No answer. Instead, the beautiful mother descends the stairs one step at a time, her fuchsia eyes turning a deep emerald shine. Her hands brimming in black smoke rise over her hair and brushes it through, causing a transformation that makes her hair jelly-like with the motions of a squid.

"Zalam, is that her?"

"Yes, it is Hel."

"Good."

Back to Action…

Down below, Danny and Jazzy Phantom land in the depths of the Ghost Zone, where skeletons and the formless await them. Before them in shocking detail is their newest enemy, who very much resembles Vlad Plasmius.

Vlad now has huge, black hair with a green streak running through it. He has his black and silver jumpsuit, adorns with streaks of blood, and red eyes. On his back is a black and red cape attached to him by two green skulls. Strapped to his left hand is a two-pronged claw. He looks more like the ghost king than himself now.

"Vlad!? How did you-"

"Daniel, and Jasmine…" he speaks, his voice booming and commanding as he approaches them. "It's time I sent you to your graves for what you two have done to me."

* * *

Kei: The last chapter will depict Danny's final fight with Vlad.

Yusei: Final?

Kei: Don't worry. There's a third part to this adventure, a Final Phantom if you will.


	15. The Final Darkness

_Blackness Phantom_

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Zir: Hello! I've taken over this story too. All of them belong to me!

Zir: And here we end Blackness Phantom with a quick fight between Danny and Vlad. But since one's weakened, it's really just a way to showcase someone's overpowered self.

* * *

 ** _The Final Darkness: March Towards Ragnarok_**

* * *

No answer. Instead, the beautiful mother descends the stairs one step at a time, her fuchsia eyes turning a deep emerald shine. Her hands brimming in black smoke rise over her hair and brushes it through, causing a transformation that makes her hair jelly-like with the motions of a squid.

"Zalam, is that her?"

"Yes, it is Hel."

"Good." Her hair extends upward and hardens, taking the shape of what can be described as antler horns. Her eyes glow a deeper shade of green before a black blade extends from within her hand. "Pariah Dark's daughter… you don't remind me at all of him."

"You…" Reina points her finger at the human and fires a condensed beam at her.

Her opponent's response is to simply raise her sword, having it be deflected and soar straight for a fleeing Box Ghost. His arm disperses into nothing. "My arm! You will pay for this in a million box deaths!"

Reina steps back slowly as Maddie, or Hel as she calls herself, comes down approaching her. "Let me ask you a question little girl; do you fear death?"

"A Dark does not fear anything." Defiant, Reina snaps her fingers. Soon an army arrives in surrounding Hel from above, all composed of Walker's policemen and the white specter himself floating with them.

"You shall eventually," speaks the Heretic goddess as she stalks forward. "Death is the end of a book. All your pages align for stories to look. And I am the pen of the life I took. You hide in this never-ending limbo of souls hoping to keep yourself stationed away from death. Well no more; you all have escaped the Grim Reaper for far too long; it is time your books were completed, and I Hel, the Heretic Goddess of Death and new ruler of the Heretic Gods, take over." She extends her hands upward as if accepting something from the heavens. "Kneel before me and I might be able to spare the lot quick enough to."

There's a beat of silence before the prison guards take aim at her. Walker then says, "You do not hold any authority, whoever you are. To attack the princess of the Ghost Zone is against the rules."

Hel is appalled. "Whoever I a- Did you not hear a fucking word I said?!"

"We did, but there was so much pointless crap mixed in we didn't care." Walker then waves his men into action.

Each one fires from their containment wands, latching green bonds around Hel causing her to drop her sword. She remains still as she is bounded, raising her arms slowly in the air. Then, with a triumphant roar, she breaks her arms free with ease shattering and destroying all the bonds on her.

Shocked, the guards back away in shock. "So you've written your lines? Then, allow me to add my edits." She opens her hands, and a variety of bladed weapons appears before her overhead. Each one flies out towards the guards, slicing and dicing them turning this fight of overwhelming numbers into a sushi bar.

Three guards fly at her from behind, and instead of acknowledging them she bends backward and spreads her arms firing three blades that penetrate through them. Throwing her hands around more she sends her weapons to kill the various police ghosts surrounding her.

Walker backs up in horror at what he's seeing, his men dying and dissolving into ectoplasm from her blades. "What are these weapons?! They're breaking the rules of reality!"

He then flies away as fast as he could.

Hel slides a sword up the spine of an officer before grabbing another's head and crushing it until it pops. With her work done she turns her eyes over to Reina, and steps towards her. Until… "We got you now!"

Skulktech 1.0 comes from above firing missiles and lasers at her. But she remains undeterred. Hel walks forth storming across the field of destruction brought upon by the mecha ghost hybrid, all energy blasts bouncing off her aura inflamed body. Missiles impact her, covering her march in smoke.

The two heads look at one another, seeing no moment. "Skulker, activate the scanner!"

"Don't tell me what to-" That metal head of his goes flying landing and clanking on the ground far away from his main body, courtesy of a green and black arrow impaled in the right eye. The real Skulker hops out and makes a run for it.

Technus jittery turns his head over to the culprit, seeing Hel walking out carrying a bow made out of her very being. "Next."

Reina pushes herself up glaring at the goddess of death. Noticing that even Technus is running away scared, and everyone else has left out of fear, she remains the only one left to face this monster of a woman. "I can't believe you're making a move now. In the future…"

"Don't be a dumb little princess. The future can be changed." This ignites anger in Reina.

"I am not a princess!" Using her Melibur she summons Vortex, Aragon, and Undergrowth. "Attack!"

As soon as she speaks, Aragon's head is immediately lopped off, the clone's body dispersing into nothing. Surprised, Reina steps back as she goes to work throwing her hands to Vortex. His lightning bolts are pushed aside by her plethora of knives impaling him. Vines fly out to entangle her, but upon wrapping around her hands Hel pulls Undergrowth down to her level and grabs his head, generating a sword through his brain.

As he disappears, the eyes of the goddess of death widen when she feels something off. Looking down she notices a blade has come through her abdomen. Turning her head around she sees Reina holding her sword through the goddess. "Now, now." The taller woman backhands Reina sending her flying in the air along with her blade. She then flies forth, her stomach wound closing up at a rapid pace.

In midair the two meet, Hel raising an ax to bring down on her. A barrier of magenta energy forms to block, shattering instantly and slicing her from left shoulder to right waist. She drops down holding her bleeding wound, which unlike hers shows no hint of healing. "Don't die on me yet. This is fun for you I bet, seeing how drenched your blade gets."

The Melibur thrusts upward at Hel's face, who grabs the blade by its tip. "As far as we get, your skills fail to be wet." She throws her down to the ground, landing just behind her. The two clash swords again, with Reina falling down hitting her face again. She then stalks around to her face. "So obvious a blind man can see it."

With a slash, Reina screams out in pain. She clutches her right eye as she falls over, writhing in unholy pain dropping her Artifact of Darkness. "NOW you remind me of Pariah."

"My eye! You bitch!" She stretches her arm to grab the blade, stopping short when Hel's sword pierces it. The weapon loses its color before dissolving into black ectoplasm. "…what?"

"The Artifacts of Darkness were created using the ectoplasm of certain Heretic beings. Where do you think the Doomsickle got its power to kill from?" A smooth kick to the face turns Reina over on her front, leaving the princess to be stomped on her chest. "Now all that leaves are the Doomsickle and the Soul Pen."

"The Soul Pen…you're not going to find it."

"I don't have to. Zalam did." She kicks once more, sending Reina flying towards her castle.

As the princess of ghosts falls unconscious, she turns around to face the black swordsman sitting on the sidelines. "Speaking of which, Zalam, where is the Soul Pen?"

"Oh, that? Don't worry." The shadow master smiles as he taps his sword. "I hid it in a safe place. You might say it'll grant your wish."

"Enough cryptic meanings." Her hand grabs hold of his collar. "Where?"

"I used the Infinity Gauntlet to hide it in a woman!"

"Reality."

"Huh?"

"It's the Reality Gauntlet," she retorts.

"What did I say?"

"You said Infinity Gauntlet."

"What IS that? What even IS that?!"

Hel glances down below to where Danny and the others are battling. "Get it back. We can't rewrite Karas' death without that pen." She then drops down below to the lower depths.

Zalam sighs as she leaves his presence, his face peeling off revealing a red tint of skin. "The thing I want to do is bring back that monster."

Back to Action…

Down below, Danny and Jazzy Phantom land in the depths of the Ghost Zone, where skeletons and the formless await them. Before them in shocking detail is their newest enemy, who very much resembles Vlad Plasmius.

Vlad now has huge, black hair with a green streak running through it. He has his black and silver jumpsuit, adorned with streaks of blood, and red eyes. On his back is a black and red cape attached to him by two green skulls. Strapped to his left hand is a two-pronged claw. He looks more like the ghost king than himself now.

"Vlad!? How did you-"

"Daniel, and Jasmine…" he speaks, his voice booming and commanding as he approaches them. "It's time I sent you to your graves for what you two have done to me."

The revenant clenches his fist adorning the claw before slashing, releasing a shockwave that blows them into the air. Recovering the siblings stay afloat glaring down upon Plasmius.

"How did you get so strong?" asks Danny as his hands glow green. He fires ecto beams at the half-ghost who deflects the attack using that claw, before firing beams from his eyes. Danny blocks using a forcefield that pushes him back into a collection of bones.

"I absorbed the power of Pariah Dark using a Fallen's power." Dark energy forms in his hands this time, and together he unleashes a massive torrent of twin streams fusing together. The half-ghost boy raises his hands creating a shield of ice, that slowly begins to be chipped away.

"Daniel, ever since I lost my almost perfect clone of you, something in me snapped." He opens his eyes and shoots red lasers that pierce through his shield, cinging through his right shoulder. The shield drops, and he's blasted by the streams. For a bit. Until Jazz's scarlet power protects him. "For some reason, I couldn't think of a single day where I didn't wake up with the thought of strangling you!"

She flies in front and gets smacked aside like a used training dummy. "I lost my chance at happiness because of Jack!" He claws Danny in the chest. "I've lost my chance of power because the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire are gone!" Another claw mark is left across his clothes. "And now, because of you and that rock, I've lost everything I've worked for!"

His claws rear back, ready to puncture through him. A memory resurfaces in his mind, and following on that Danny twists his spine so he ends up piercing into the dirt. "So then what?! I'm dying to know what your next big scheme is!"

An ecto charged punch to the face breaks Vlad off his claws, as well as a tooth. "You kill me, and then what happens next?!" Another similar punch hits Vlad in the gut. "Your position as mayor of Amity Park isn't gonna come back!"

He lays a kick to his face, bending his nose upward. Another punch comes at him, but this time Vlad grabs his wrist and flips him on his back. Danny turns human slipping through his molecules and the floor, before rising up turning back into his super alter ego. He then fires an ice beam, frosting over Vlad's right arm. "You still can't buy the Green Bay Packers!"

A white veil forms around his free hand, as he fires a small version of the Darkest Plasma. This attack blasts off Vlad's arm. "My mom sure as hell isn't gonna love you!"

The revenant slowly regrows his arm back, angrily glaring at his adversary, who takes a knee as his breathing starts to slow down. "Nothing's going to change ya fruit loop."

Vlad grins, revealing his extended canines like a hungry vampire. "But you'll be gone."

A scarlet wave blasts him aside. Jazz flies in riding the wave and landing a powerful dropkick to his face. Standing quickly, she uses her weird power to once again hold him in place, her eyes turning black with scarlet irises. "What…is this?!"

Jazz keeps him held as she explains. "It seems when I was exposed to that portal's energy I got a different kind of ghost power. Now I can move things with my mind better than any ghost ever could."

She then pushes hard, sending Vlad flying into a valley of skulls. "Danny, let's finish this up." She takes out the Fenton Thermos and aims it at him.

"I've never been captured in that blasted device, and I won't start now!" He clenches his hand, summoning a sword of condensed ectoplasmic energy that pierces through the thermos. With a flick of the wrist, it slices her hand as well.

As green starts to paint the bones they step on, Vlad flies higher up. "I may not be able to stop you now, but I'll kill you both soon enough! The power I've achieved will destroy everything in my path!"

Echoes of his billowing, maniacal laughter reverberate throughout the lower valley before it is promptly silenced. Looking down, the vampiric half ghost looks down at his chest, seeing a phantom blade has pierced through him.

Both Danny and Jazz gape when they bare witness to what has happened to Vlad. The blade inside of him splits apart down the middle, slowly pushing aside and ripping the vampire in half. On the left still attached to one sword, is the transparent form of Vlad and his ghost half, and on the other, a corporeal sphere that flies out detaching itself from the sword. Its wielder, Hel.

"You!" Danny shouts when he sees her. He remembers her as the green ghost woman who attacked him at Clockwork's hideout.

"Hello again, Phantom. Good to see you've gotten stronger." She then swipes aside, her ethereal blade expelling another being from Vlad Plasmius.

As the ghost half of the former billionaire lies lifeless on her blade, the human half of Vlad falls on top of the collections of bones. "What? What happened?!"

Hel thrusts aside, tossing the ghost half to the ground. Masters watches in horror as Plasmius dissolves, reaching out for his human half in vain screaming his final scream. "No!"

The goddess of death retrieves her blade just before she glares at Danny with a murderous smile. "I got what I wanted." She then flies away up to the top floor.

"Wait!" Danny flies up after her, while Jazz remains down below.

The frightened Masters makes a break for it, before being pushed down by Jazz's psionic scarlet energy. "I should leave you here to die. But, neither I nor Danny would do something like that." His glare back says otherwise. "Well, not anymore."

She flies up following her little brother, spotting the boy kneeling over their fallen mother. "Mom!"

"Maddie!" The former half ghost looks on in shock as Danny nudges the love of his life, who cringes as she awakens.

The woman opens her eyes looking up at her savior of a son, her fuchsia eyes staring warmly in his. "Danny… you saved me…"

"Yes, mom. It's gonna be okay now. Let's go home."

"Wait! Where was that woman?"

"Gone," he tells his sister. "She must have went invisible…"

"Do you know who she is?"

"No, but I know someone who would." Danny touches the dial on his glove and extends his hand, using his white mist to rend through space. This gateway shows a path to Amity Park. "Let's go home first."

Before they make their departure, the specter sphere left aside begins to shift itself. Soon it takes an enlarged human shape before colors adorn its posture. It soon takes the shape of a familiar being, the Ghost King Pariah Dark.

Not wanting to deal with that, the two half ghosts pass through carrying their human luggage. As they enter into reality, Vlad continues to strain himself. Nothing comes of it.

"Jazz, you go hand ol' fruit loop there over to the authorities," says Danny as he flies off heading for Fenton Works.

While his sister takes Vlad away, Danny lands inside of Fenton Works passing through the walls. He and Maddie reappear before the likes of Jack, Tucker, Sam, and Desiree. "Danny/Maddie!" they shout, even the goth girl upon seeing him safe and sound. And decked out in an awesome new suit.

Danny lays his mother on the couch before turning an eye to his friends and family. "Danny my boy! How did it go?" asks his old man, who goes to his wife's side immediately. His eyes never leave his son.

"I won. But there are things going on that I'm not aware of…" Danny transforms back to his human side. "At least now Vlad's gone for the count."

"Vlad?" asks Jack in shock.

"Some Fallen lady ripped his ghost half out of him… it was just like in that alternate future when I…" He stops at that, shaking his head. "I'm going back to the Ghost Zone. I need to speak with Clockwork."

He raises his hand, straining to keep his power stable. Desiree takes his hand. "You're too tired; rest now. You've done enough as it is…"

Sam takes his other hand, eyes showing some manner of sympathy that's been missing over the past few days. "Danny, no more acting dumb for the time being."

Taking a good look at them, and then the rest of his friends, Danny sighs with defeat. "Okay. I'll hold off on that."

Elsewhere…

Off in another section of Amity Park, Danielle Fenton roams about the city eating an apple she 'appropriated' for her own health. With a newspaper on hand, she reads up on new events. "Maybe I should drop in, see how Danny's been holding up."

As she walks, a shadow overhead passes her. The half-ghost clone stops before glancing upward, at the Ghost Sheriff Vector standing on a surf hoverboard. "Uh…"

"Dani Phantom I presume," says the metal hero as he descends, dropping off the board glaring at her. The people surrounding scatter, not wanting to get involved with whatever issue is about to be handled.

Vector takes his left hand and pats the right breast of his armor, causing it to dissolve and enter the gun on the waist and reveal her true appearance. Dani steps back in shock. "Valerie?"

"I need your help."

Later…

Back in the home of Fenton Works, three-quarters of the family are fast asleep. Left on the couch in the living room, Desiree is fast asleep, muttering sweet nothings about a boy younger than her. She turns in her sleep, as a shadow appears.

Zalam exits the darkness looking down upon the woman. He scratches his head sheepishly as he contemplates his actions. "Well, I guess I could always say it was stolen." He then reenters the shadows.

Upstairs, Maddie leaves her cozy bedroom. Entering the bathroom, she stares at the window with eyes on what exists beyond her sight. "Why can't I tell them about you?"

Her lips speak, " **Because I forbade it. You see, we Heretics are unlike regular ghosts. We need a human host in order to exit in your world, or else we dry up and shatter.** "

"But why me?"

" **A deterrent against your son when he finds out the truth. Also, I need access to a ghost portal. The object we need is held by the angel Sojourn, and the ghost portal is the only means we have to find him. So sit on back, and hope I find someone better.** "

As the scary ghost face of Maddie's reflection reverts back to her true face, the mother of Fenton Works heads back to bed. All the while, trying to figure out a way to warn her son. "Danny…"

* * *

Zir: And finally, Blackness Phantom is over. Come to join us next time, when this story will conclude. Or not. I ain't holding a gun to your head.

Ambrosius: Danny's adventure will be concluded in the third and final chapter, Final Phantom.


End file.
